Shloka 4.17.38
वालिवधः — Vālī’s Fall and Dharma-Accusation (Kiṣkindhā Sarga 17)
पञ्च पञ्च नखा भक्ष्या ब्रह्मक्षत्रेण राघव।।शल्यक श्श्वाविधो गोधा शशः कूर्मश्च पञ्चमः।
pañca pañcanakhā bhakṣyā brahmakṣatreṇa rāghava | śalyakaḥ śvāvidho godhā śaśaḥ kūrmaś ca pañcamaḥ ||
O Rāghava, for brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas only five ‘five-nailed’ creatures are permitted as food: the porcupine, the hedgehog, the godhā, the hare, and the tortoise as the fifth.
'O Rama! brahmins and kshatriyas are permitted to eat only the five -nailed animals- the porcupine, the hedgehog, the alligator, the rabbit and the tortoise.
Dharma is not mere power but regulated living; even permitted acts (like meat-eating in certain traditions) are constrained by specific rules.
Vāli cites traditional categories of permissible ‘pañcanakha’ animals to argue that Rāma’s killing of him cannot be defended as legitimate hunting for food.
Scriptural/legal discernment—knowing boundaries of permissibility and applying them responsibly.