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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.11.17

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 11: Aśvamedha yajña: Release of the horse and preparations. Ṛṣyaśṛṅga orders the horse released, Daśaratha commissions the sacrificial ground on the Sarayū’s northern bank and warns that ritual errors endanger the patron

In the sequence: he warns that learned brahma-rākṣasas seek ritual faults and that a flawed sacrifice endangers its patron → the ministers agree to arrange everything correctly, and the assembly disperses.

1.11.17

chidraṃ hi mṛgayante 'tra vidvāṃso brahmarākṣasāḥ
vidhihīnasya yajñasya sadyaḥ kartā vinaśyati

For learned brahma-rākṣasas seek out a flaw at such a rite; and the performer of a sacrifice lacking proper rule perishes at once.

Words: chidraṃ — a flaw, chink; hi — for; mṛgayante — they seek out, hunt for; 'tra — here, at (such a rite); vidvāṃso — learned; brahmarākṣasāḥ — brahma-rākṣasas (a class of demon); vidhihīnasya — of one lacking proper rule; yajñasya — of the sacrifice; sadyaḥ — at once, immediately; kartā — the performer; vinaśyati — perishes

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.