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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.54.18

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 54: Rāvaṇa’s deadline and threat. Sītā refuses him, he gives her twelve months to submit or be killed for his meal, then sends her to the aśoka grove

In the sequence: she refuses to dishonor herself even if he binds or kills her, then falls silent

3.54.18

na śakyā yajñamadhyasthā vediḥ srugbhāṇḍa maṇḍitā
dvijātimantrasaṃpūtā caṇḍālenāvamarditum

An altar standing in the midst of a sacrifice, adorned with the ladle and vessels and hallowed by the mantras of the twice-born, cannot be defiled by a caṇḍāla.

Words: na — not; śakyā — able, possible; yajñamadhyasthā — standing in the midst of a sacrifice; vediḥ — an altar; srugbhāṇḍa — ladle and vessels; maṇḍitā — adorned; dvijātimantrasaṃpūtā — hallowed by the mantras of the twice-born; caṇḍālenāvamarditum — to be defiled by a caṇḍāla

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.