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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.58.14

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 58: Story of Viśvāmitra: Triśaṅku’s sacrifice and the priests’ refusal. Viśvāmitra promises Triśaṅku bodily ascent and summons priests, then curses Vasiṣṭha’s sons & Mahodaya for rejecting the sacrifice

In the sequence: the disciples report that Vasiṣṭha's sons and Mahodaya refuse: they scorn a sacrifice officiated by a kṣatriya for a caṇḍāla and question whether Suras and ṛṣis could accept its havis

1.58.14

kṣatriyo yājako yasya caṇḍālasya viśeṣataḥ
kathaṃ sadasi bhoktāro havis tasya surarṣayaḥ

'The officiant is a kṣatriya, and the sacrificer especially a caṇḍāla; how, in the assembly, would the gods and seers be eaters of his oblation?'

Words: kṣatriyo — a kṣatriya; yājako — the officiating priest; yasya — whose, for whom; caṇḍālasya — of a caṇḍāla; viśeṣataḥ — especially; kathaṃ — how; sadasi — in the assembly; bhoktāro — eaters; havis — the oblation; tasya — his; surarṣayaḥ — the gods and seers

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. 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.