Shloka 33
मधुकैटभवधोपाख्यानम्
The Account of the Slaying of Madhu and Kaiṭabha
शिष्टान्यन्नानि यो भुड्धक्ते कि वै सुखतरं ततः । अतो मृष्टतरं नान्यत् पूतं किज्चिच्छतक्रतो
śiṣṭāny annāni yo bhuṅkte kiṃ vai sukhataram tataḥ | ato mṛṣṭataraṃ nānyat pūtaṃ kiñcic chatakrato ||
قال باكا: «أيُّ شيءٍ أمتعُ من أكلِ طعامٍ لائقٍ مُجازٍ عند أهلِ الفضيلة؟ حقًّا، يا شاتاكرتو (إندرا)، لا شيء أطيبُ من ذلك—ولا شيء أطهرُ منه البتّة.»
बक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises food that is ‘śiṣṭa’—proper and sanctioned by the virtuous—as the most pleasant and the purest. Ethical propriety and purity of means are presented as superior to mere sensory taste.
Baka addresses Indra (Śatakratu) and asserts that nothing surpasses the delight and purity of eating food that is proper and approved by the righteous, framing the discussion in terms of moral and ritual cleanliness.