Shloka 1.62.24
शुनश्शेफरक्षा–विश्वामित्रशापः (Sunassepha’s Rescue and Visvamitra’s Curse)
सदस्यानुमते राजा पवित्रकृतलक्षणम्।पशुं रक्ताम्बरं कृत्वा यूपे तं समबन्धयत्।।।।
sadasyānumate rājā pavitrakṛtalakṣaṇam | paśuṃ raktāmbaraṃ kṛtvā yūpe taṃ samabandhayat ||
With the consent of the officiating priests, the king marked him with the purifying kuśa-grass tokens, clothed him in red, and bound him to the yūpa (sacrificial post) as the appointed offering.
With the consent of the officiating priests the king invested Sunasepha with the sacred symbols with Kusa grass, dressed him in red apparel and tied him to the sacrificial post as a sacrificial animal.
Dharma here is framed as adherence to sanctioned ritual order—actions occur only with priestly consent—raising the Ramayana’s broader question of how ritual duty must remain bounded by righteousness.
Śunaḥśepha is ritually prepared and physically bound to the yūpa to serve as the substitute offering in the king’s sacrifice.
Institutional obedience and procedural correctness (following sadasya approval), though the scene also foreshadows ethical tension within ritual action.