सोऽकामयत मेध्यं म इदँ स्यादा-त्मन्व्यनेन स्यामिति ।ततोऽश्वः सम-भवद्यदश्वत्तन्मेध्यमभूदिति तदेवाश्वमे-धस्याश्वमेधत्वम् ।एष ह वा अश्वमेधं वेदय एनमेवं वेद ।तमनवरुध्यैवामन्यत ।तँ संवत्सरस्य परस्तादात्मन आल-भत ।पशून्देवताभ्यः प्रत्यौहत् ।तस्मा-त्सर्वदैवत्यं प्रोक्षितं प्राजापत्यमालभ-न्ते ।एष ह वा अश्वमेधो य एष तपतितस्य संवत्सर आत्मायमग्निरर्कस्तस्येमेलोका आत्मानस्तावेतावर्काश्वमेधौ ।सोपुनरेकैव देवता भवति मृत्युरेवाप पुन-र्मृत्युं जयति नैनं मृत्युराप्नोति मृत्यु-रस्यात्मा भवत्येतासां देवतानामेकोभवति ॥ ७ ॥
In plain words
Prajāpati willed: 'Let this body of mine become pure and fit for sacrifice, and through it, let me possess a physical form.' From that cosmic will, the horse came into being. Because the body swelled, it became pure and sacrificial; and in this very fact lies the inner meaning of the horse-sacrifice. He truly understands the horse-sacrifice who realizes it in this way. Leaving the horse completely free and untethered, he meditated upon it. When a full year had passed, he offered it up as his own self-sacrifice. The other animals he offered to their respective cosmic deities. For this reason, priests still offer the animal dedicated to Prajāpati, sprinkled with holy water, as consecrated to all the gods. The horse-sacrifice is indeed the sun that shines above; the year is its very body. This terrestrial fire is Arka; the worlds are its limbs. These two are Arka and the horse-sacrifice. Yet they merge again to become a single deity—Death itself. One who knows this overcomes the cycle of repeated death; mortality can no longer bind him. Death becomes his very self, and he is unified with these divine forces.
Close to the Sanskrit
He desired: 'May this body of mine be fit for sacrifice, and may I be embodied through this.' Thence the horse arose. Because it swelled, therefore it became fit for sacrifice; this indeed is the horse-sacrifice-ness of the horse-sacrifice. He indeed knows the horse-sacrifice who knows it thus. Without binding it at all, he meditated upon it. At the end of a year, he sacrificed it for himself. He assigned the other animals to their respective deities. Therefore, they sacrifice the animal consecrated to Prajāpati as sprinkled and belonging to all deities. This indeed is the horse-sacrifice which shines here; of him, the year is the self; this fire is Arka, of him, these worlds are the selves; these two are Arka and Aśvamedha. He again becomes one single deity, namely Death itself. He conquers repeated death, death does not reach him, death becomes his self, and he becomes one of these deities.