Shloka 22
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
अभक्ष्या ब्राद्माणैर्मत्स्या: शल्कैयें वै विवर्जिता: | चतुष्पात् कच्छपादन्यो मण्ड्रका जलजाश्च ये
abhakṣyā brāhmaṇair matsyāḥ śalkair eva vivarjitāḥ | catuṣpāt kacchapād anyo maṇḍrakā jalajāś ca ye ||
Vyāsa declares dietary restraints for Brāhmaṇas: even fish that lack scales are not to be eaten. Likewise, the tortoise and, besides it, other four-footed creatures are forbidden as food; frogs and other beings born in water are also to be avoided.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma includes regulated consumption: for Brāhmaṇas, certain categories of animals—especially particular aquatic and amphibious beings—are classified as abhakṣya (forbidden), emphasizing purity and restraint as ethical disciplines.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa is laying down specific prohibitions regarding what Brāhmaṇas should not eat, listing fish (notably those lacking scales), tortoise and other quadrupeds, frogs, and other water-born creatures.