Shloka 1
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
अड-#-#रू+ षोडशाधिकशततमोब<्ध्याय: मांस न खानेसे लाभ और अहिंसाधर्मकी प्रशंसा युधिछिर उवाच इमे वै मानवा लोके नृशंसा मांसगृद्धिन: । विसृज्य विविधान् भक्ष्यान् महारक्षोगणा इव
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: ime vai mānavā loke nṛśaṃsā māṃsagṛddhinaḥ | visṛjya vividhān bhakṣyān mahārakṣogaṇā iva ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: «Weh, ehrwürdiger Ahn! Welch Kummer: In dieser Welt gibt es Menschen, grausam und gierig nach Fleisch. Sie werfen vielerlei gute Speisen beiseite und verlangen nach dem Geschmack des Fleisches wie große Horden von Rākṣasas.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns cruelty and meat-craving as ethically degrading, implying that choosing non-violent, wholesome foods aligns better with dharma and compassion (ahiṃsā).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s discussion praising ahiṃsā and the benefits of avoiding meat, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma (pitāmaha) and laments that people abandon many foods to pursue meat, likening them to rākṣasas.