Shloka 12
Viṣṇor Māhātmya and Indriya-saṃyama (विष्णोर्माहात्म्यं तथा इन्द्रियसंयमः)
एवमुक्ता निवृत्ता सा प्रविष्टा यज्ञपावकम् । कि नु दुश्चरितं यज्ञे दिदृक्षु: सा रसातलम्
evam uktā nivṛttā sā praviṣṭā yajñapāvakam | ki nu duścaritaṁ yajñe didṛkṣuḥ sā rasātalam ||
Thus addressed, she desisted and turned back; then she entered the sacrificial fire. Having come with the wish to see whether any wrongdoing or flaw existed in the sacrifice, she thereafter went down to Rasātala.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores ritual accountability: even a sacrifice must be examined for ethical or procedural fault (duścarita). It implies that religious acts are not beyond scrutiny; dharma requires vigilance about purity of means, not merely the outward performance.
Nārada narrates that the woman, after receiving an answer, withdraws and enters the sacrificial fire. Her purpose in coming was to check whether any misdeed or flaw was present in the yajña; afterward she proceeds to Rasātala, a netherworld realm.