Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 19, Shloka 5
विश्वामित्रस्य यज्ञरक्षा-याचना
Visvamitra Requests Rama for Yajna-Protection
व्रते मे बहुशश्चीर्णे समाप्त्यां राक्षसाविमौ।मारीचश्च सुबाहुश्च वीर्यवन्तौ सुशिक्षितौ।।।।समांसरुधिरौघेण वेदिं तामभ्यवर्षताम्।
vrate me bahuśaś cīrṇe samāptyāṃ rākṣasāv imau | mārīcaś ca subāhuś ca vīryavantau suśikṣitau || samāṃsa-rudhiraughena vediṃ tām abhyavarṣatām |
Lorsque mon observance, maintes fois accomplie, touchait à son terme, ces deux rākṣasas—Mārīca et Subāhu, puissants et bien entraînés—arrosèrent l’autel de flots de sang mêlé de chair.
O Tiger among kings! I shall unfold the purpose conceived in my mind. Take a decision and be truthful to your promise.
FAQs
The verse contrasts dharmic ritual order with adharma that pollutes and obstructs sacred action; protecting ritual purity is presented as a righteous necessity.
Viśvāmitra describes the specific act of desecration: Mārīca and Subāhu defile the sacrifice by raining blood and flesh upon the altar near the rite’s completion.
The virtue implied is steadfastness in dharmic practice—continuing vows despite repeated disruptions—and the need for courageous protection against desecration.