Shloka 136
Jatāyu’s Resistance, Sītā’s Traces, Kabandha’s Release, and the Path to Sugrīva (Āraṇyaka-parva 263)
पूर्ववत् कारयित्वान्न न भुड्क्ते गर्हयन् सम सः । फिर कहींसे अकस्मात् आकर कहते--'हमलोगोंको जल्दी भोजन कराओ।” कभी आधी रातमें उठकर उसे नीचा दीखानेके लिये उद्यत हो पूर्ववत् भोजन बनवाकर उस भोजनकी निन्दा करते हुए भोजन करनेसे इनकार कर देते थे
pūrvavat kārayitvānna na bhuṅkte garhayan sama saḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Just as before, after having food prepared, he would not eat it; while disparaging the meal, he would remain unmoved. At times he would arrive suddenly and demand, ‘Feed us at once!’ At other times, rising in the middle of the night, intent on humiliating the host, he would again have food prepared as earlier and then refuse to eat, condemning the very food he had caused to be made.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage critiques unethical conduct that weaponizes hospitality: demanding service, forcing others to labor, then insulting the offering and refusing it. Such behavior violates dharma by inflicting needless hardship and humiliation, showing how power and entitlement can become cruelty when unrestrained by gratitude and respect.
A man repeatedly compels food to be prepared—sometimes suddenly, sometimes in the middle of the night—then disparages the meal and refuses to eat. The pattern is deliberate: he uses unreasonable demands and contempt to demean the host and display dominance.