Shloka 18
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
द्विजेभ्यो वेदवृद्धेभ्य: प्रयतः सुसमाहित: । तेनापोहति धर्मात्मन् दुष्कृतं कर्म पाण्डव
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
dvijebhyo vedavṛddhebhyaḥ prayataḥ susamāhitaḥ |
tenāpohati dharmātman duṣkṛtaṃ karma pāṇḍava ||
ধর্মাত্মন্ পাণ্ডব! যে সংযত ও সম্পূর্ণ সমাহিতচিত্ত হয়ে, নিজের বাহুবলে অর্জিত অন্ন বেদবৃদ্ধ দ্বিজদের যথাবিধি দান করে, সে সেই অন্নদানের প্রভাবে পূর্বকৃত দুষ্কর্ম নাশ করে।
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disciplined, sincere giving—especially offering food to Veda-learned Brāhmaṇas—functions as a moral purifier, removing the stain of prior wrongdoing; charity is framed as part of righteous kṣatriya conduct rather than exploitation.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Pāṇḍava interlocutor and states a dharma principle: when one, with a composed mind, donates sustenance to Vedic elders, the merit of that act dispels past sinful actions.