Shloka 19
शूद्रान्नेनावशेषेण जठरे यो म्रियेद् द्विज: । आहिताग्निस्तथा यज्वा स शूद्रगतिभाग् भवेत्,जो ब्राह्मण पेटमें शूद्रका अन्न लिये मर जाता है, वह अग्निहोत्री अथवा यज्ञ करनेवाला ही क्यों न रहा हो, उसे शूद्रकी योनिमें जन्म लेना पड़ता है
śūdrānnenāvaśeṣeṇa jaṭhare yo mriyed dvijaḥ | āhitāgnis tathā yajvā sa śūdragatibhāg bhavet ||
Mahādeva said: “If a twice-born man dies with the remainder of Śūdra-provided food still in his stomach, then—even if he has maintained the sacred fires and performed sacrifices—he becomes a sharer in the Śūdra’s destiny, i.e., he must attain a Śūdra state of rebirth.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that ritual status (being an āhitāgni or yajvā) does not override the karmic and dharmic consequences of violating prescribed conduct regarding food and purity; one’s end-state and rebirth are shaped by adherence to ācāra as well as ritual performance.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Maheśvara is delivering a rule-like instruction about the consequences for a dvija who dies after consuming (and still retaining) food deemed improper by the text’s purity norms, stating that such a person attains a Śūdra-associated destiny despite prior sacrificial credentials.