Shloka 43
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
तथा राजन्यवैश्याभ्यां यद्यश्नरीयात्तु केतित: । यवीयान् पशुहिंसायां भागार्ध समवाप्लुयात्
tathā rājanya-vaiśyābhyāṁ yady aśnīyāt tu ketitaḥ | yavīyān paśu-hiṁsāyāṁ bhāgārdhaṁ samavāpnuyāt ||
قال بهيشما: «أيها الملك، إن كان رجل قد دُعي دعوةً رسمية من كْشَتْرِيّا أو فَيْشْيَا، ثم مضى إلى موضعٍ آخر فأكل هناك بدلًا من ذلك، عُدَّ مُلامًا، وناله نصيب—نصف نصيب—من الإثم المتصل بالعنف الواقع على الحيوان (لأجل ذلك الطعام).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should honor a prior invitation, especially in a context where food preparation may involve animal slaughter; by eating elsewhere after accepting an invitation, one becomes morally complicit and is said to incur half the demerit associated with the animal-violence enabled by that arrangement.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king on dharma and conduct, he explains a rule of ethical responsibility: when a Kshatriya or Vaishya has already invited someone for a meal, the invitee should not disregard it and dine elsewhere, because such disregard carries social blame and karmic consequence tied to the meal’s violence.