Shloka 19
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
संरब्ध एव भूतानां पृष्ठमांसमभक्षयम् | सो<हं तेन च वृत्तेन भोजनेन च तेन वै
saṃrabdha eva bhūtānāṃ pṛṣṭhamāṃsam abhakṣayam | so 'haṃ tena ca vṛttena bhojanena ca tena vai
Der Caṇḍāla sprach: „Von harter Not getrieben aß ich das Fleisch von den Rücken der Geschöpfe. So wurde ich durch diese Lebensweise — und durch eben diese Speise — zu dem, was ich bin.“
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links one’s condition and identity to one’s chosen (or compelled) livelihood and diet: conduct and sustenance shape character and consequences, highlighting karmic and ethical accountability even under hardship.
A Caṇḍāla speaks in self-disclosure, explaining that under pressing necessity he consumed the flesh of creatures; he attributes his present state to that past way of living and the food associated with it.