Shloka 71
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
विश्वामित्र उवाच अगस्त्येनासुरो जग्धो वातापि: क्षुधितेन वै । अहमापदगत: क्षुत्तो भक्षयिष्ये श्वजाघनीम्,विश्वामित्र बोले--भूखे हुए महर्षि अगस्त्येने वातापि नामक असुरको खा लिया था। मैं तो क्षुधाके कारण भारी आपत्तिमें पड़ गया हूँ; अतः यह कुत्तेकी जाँच अवश्य खाऊँगा
Viśvāmitra uvāca: Agastyenāsuro jagdho Vātāpiḥ kṣudhitenā vai | aham āpadgataḥ kṣuttaḥ bhakṣayiṣye śvajāghanīm ||
Viśvāmitra said: “When the sage Agastya was hungry, he even ate the asura named Vātāpi. I too have fallen into dire distress, tormented by hunger; therefore I will eat this dog’s haunch.”
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse invokes āpaddharma: in extreme distress (especially starvation), actions normally prohibited may be argued as permissible for preserving life, using Agastya’s extraordinary precedent to justify a difficult choice.
Viśvāmitra, suffering severe hunger, cites the famous episode of Agastya eating the asura Vātāpi when hungry, and declares that he too will eat a dog’s haunch to survive his present calamity.