Shloka 18
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
द्विजेभ्यो वेदवृद्धेभ्य: प्रयतः सुसमाहित: । तेनापोहति धर्मात्मन् दुष्कृतं कर्म पाण्डव
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
dvijebhyo vedavṛddhebhyaḥ prayataḥ susamāhitaḥ |
tenāpohati dharmātman duṣkṛtaṃ karma pāṇḍava ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Oh justo, oh hijo de Pāṇḍu: el hombre disciplinado y plenamente sereno que ofrece alimento—ganado con la fuerza de sus propios brazos—a los brāhmanes sabios, ancianos en el conocimiento védico, con ello lava sus malas acciones. Tal dádiva, fundada en la conducta recta y en la protección de los súbditos y no en el pillaje, se vuelve un medio de purificación moral».
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disciplined, sincere giving—especially offering food to Veda-learned Brāhmaṇas—functions as a moral purifier, removing the stain of prior wrongdoing; charity is framed as part of righteous kṣatriya conduct rather than exploitation.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Pāṇḍava interlocutor and states a dharma principle: when one, with a composed mind, donates sustenance to Vedic elders, the merit of that act dispels past sinful actions.