Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 10
Brāhmaṇa-mahattva and Atithi-Dharma
Brahmagītā: Praise of Brāhmaṇas and norms of honor
श्येन उवाच ममैतद् विहितं भक्ष्यं न राजंस्त्रातुमरहसि । अकिक्रान्तं च प्राप्तं च प्रयत्नाच्वोपपादितम्
śyena uvāca: mamaitad vihitaṃ bhakṣyaṃ na rājaṃs trātum arhasi | akikrāntaṃ ca prāptaṃ ca prayatnāc copapāditam ||
The hawk said: “O King, this has been ordained as my food. You should not seek to protect it. Its life is as good as lost, for it has now come into my grasp. I have obtained it through great effort.”
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-conflict: the king’s duty to protect the weak and those seeking refuge is challenged by the predator’s claim of rightful sustenance ordained by fate and earned by effort. It raises the ethical question of how to act when two legitimate claims—compassionate protection and another being’s survival-right—collide.
A hawk addresses the king, asserting that the pigeon is its destined food and that the king should not intervene. The hawk argues the prey is already effectively lost because it has been caught and obtained through the hawk’s strenuous pursuit.