अयं कृष्णः समाप्ताङ्गः शृतः कृष्णमृगो यथा।
देवतां देवसंकाश यजस्व कुशलो ह्यसि॥
ayaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ samāptāṅgaḥ śṛtaḥ kṛṣṇa-mṛgo yathā
devatāṁ deva-saṅkāśa yajasva kuśalo hy asi
ayam = of this; kṛṣṇaḥ = dark deer; samāpta-aṅgaḥ = the entire body; śṛtaḥ = is now fully cooked; kṛṣṇa-mṛgaḥ yathā = and it is just like a [live] dark deer; devatām = to the deities; deva-saṅkāśa = Rāma, You are effulgent like a deva; yajasva = offer it in sacrifice; kuśalaḥ hi asi = for You are competent to do so.
The entire body of this dark deer is now fully cooked and it is just like a [live] dark deer. Rāma, You are effulgent like a deva. Offer it in sacrifice to the deities for You are competent to do so.1
1 Devatām here means “the deities” (jātāv eka-vacanam). Text 32 will explicitly mention that Rāma worshipped the deities. Lakṣmaṇa wanted Rāma to offer the deer that had been offered into the fire to the deities for Rāma was competent to do so. In other words, offering such animals in sacrifice required competent persons who could ensure that the souls inhabiting those animal bodies would be transferred to the bodies of celestial beings.