Shloka 18
न शक्या यज्ञमध्यस्था वेदी सृग्भाण्डमण्डिता।द्विजातिमन्त्रपूता च चण्डालेनावमर्दितुम्।।।।
na śakyā yajñamadhyasthā vedī sṛgbhāṇḍamaṇḍitā | dvijātimantrapūtā ca caṇḍālenāvamarditum ||
यज्ञ के मध्य स्थित, स्रुव-भाण्डों से सुशोभित और द्विजों के मन्त्रों से पवित्र की हुई वेदी को कोई चाण्डाल अपवित्र नहीं कर सकता॥
The sacrificial altar adorned with ladles and vessels and sanctified by the sacred mantras recited by brahmins cannot be defiled by a chandala (man of lowest caste).
FAQs
Dharma is presented as inviolable: what is consecrated by right order and sacred discipline cannot be truly defiled by the unrighteous.
Sītā uses a ritual analogy to assert that Rāvaṇa cannot spiritually ‘possess’ or purify his act by force.
Sītā’s inner purity and her ability to teach through dharmic imagery and analogy.