Shloka 12
Agastya-Māhātmya and Vasiṣṭha’s Protection of the Ādityas
Khalina Daityas; Sarayū Etiology
शूद्रकर्मस्वथैतेषु यो भुड्धक्ते निरपत्रप: । अभोज्यभोजन भुकक्त्वा भयं प्राप्रोति दारुणम्,जो निर्लज्ज मनुष्य शूद्रोचित कर्म करनेवाले इन द्विजोंके घर भोजन करता है, वह अभक्ष्य-भक्षणका पाप करके दारुण भयको प्राप्त होता है
śūdrakarmasv athaiteṣu yo bhuṅkte nirapatrapaḥ | abhojyabhojanaṃ bhuktvā bhayaṃ prāpnoti dāruṇam ||
Bhīṣma said: “A shameless person who eats in the houses of these twice-born men while they are engaged in conduct and occupations proper to a Śūdra commits the fault of consuming what ought not to be eaten; as a result, he incurs dreadful fear.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that accepting and eating food in a context deemed adharmic—here, from twice-born persons behaving in ways classified as Śūdra-like—amounts to consuming ‘abhojya’ (improper/forbidden food) and leads to severe negative consequences.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he lays down norms about proper conduct and the ethics of accepting food; he cautions that shamelessly eating in such circumstances brings dreadful fear and suffering.