Shloka 18
सीताया रावणनिन्दा — अशोकवनिकाप्रवेशः
Sita’s Rebuke of Ravana; Removal to the Ashoka Grove
न शक्या यज्ञमध्यस्था वेदी सृग्भाण्डमण्डिता।द्विजातिमन्त्रपूता च चण्डालेनावमर्दितुम्।।।।
na śakyā yajñamadhyasthā vedī sṛgbhāṇḍamaṇḍitā | dvijātimantrapūtā ca caṇḍālenāvamarditum ||
Sebuah vedi (altar) yang tegak di tengah yajña, dihias dengan senduk dan bejana-bejana, serta disucikan oleh mantra para dvija (dua-kelahiran), tidak dapat dinajiskan oleh seorang caṇḍāla.
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.