Shloka 1
Agastya-Māhātmya and Vasiṣṭha’s Protection of the Ādityas
Khalina Daityas; Sarayū Etiology
औपनआक्रात बछ। सर: पजञ्चत्रिशर्दाधिकशततमोब् ध्याय: जिनका अन्न ग्रहण करने योग्य है और जिनका ग्रहण करने योग्य नहीं है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | bhojyā brāhmaṇasyeha ke bhojyāḥ kṣatriyasya ha | tathā vaiśyasya ke bhojyāḥ ke śūdrasya ca bhārata ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O Bhārata, aus wessen Hand ist es in dieser Welt einem Brāhmaṇa geziemend, Speise anzunehmen? Aus wessen Hand einem Kṣatriya? Ebenso: von wem darf ein Vaiśya Speise annehmen, und von wem ein Śūdra?“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an inquiry into dharma concerning food acceptance: which sources of food are considered permissible or impermissible for each varṇa, implying that ethical conduct, purity, and the character of the giver affect what may be accepted.
Yudhiṣṭhira initiates a discussion by asking Bhīṣma (addressed here as ‘Bhārata’) to specify the proper households or persons from whom members of the four varṇas may take food, setting up a detailed ethical discourse in the chapter.