प्रायश्चित्तं महद्ध्येतन्नरं वा पुरुषर्षभ।
आनयस्व पशुं शीघ्रं यावत्कर्म प्रवर्तते॥
prāyaścittaṁ mahad dhy etan naraṁ vā puruṣa-rṣabha
ānayasva paśuṁ śīghraṁ yāvat karma pravartate
prāyaścittam = atonement for having lost the sacrificial animal; mahat = great; hi etat = here is; naram vā = or bring a human; puruṣa-rṣabha = O best of men; ānayasva paśum śīghram = quickly recover the lost animal; yāvat = as long as; karma = the sacrificial ceremony; pravartate = continues.
O best of men, here is a great atonement for having lost the sacrificial animal: As long as the sacrificial ceremony continues, quickly recover the lost animal or bring a human.1
1 We should remember that in the previous ages, during fire sacrifices the demigods would visibly come to take their shares of the sacrificial offerings. (In the previous chapter we noticed that Viśvāmitra became furious when the demigods did not visibly come to accept their shares.) That was evidence that the sacrifice was successful and that the sacrificial animal was awarded a superior state of existence. For further information, see the note to text 1.8.2.
The king could bring a human [animal] as a representative of the lost sacrificial animal by selling cows before the sacrificial rites begin. In Aśvamedha sacrifice, after the animal is let loose, there is some time before the sacrificial rites begin. Or else, the king could search for the lost animal and bring it.