Shloka 20
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
अवाप्य प्राणसंदेहं कार्कश्येन समार्जितम् । अन्न दत्त्वा द्विजातिभ्य: शूद्र: पापात् प्रमुच्यते
avāpya prāṇasaṃdehaṃ kārkśyena samārjitam | annaṃ dattvā dvijātibhyaḥ śūdraḥ pāpāt pramucyate |
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Aunque lo haya ganado con áspero esfuerzo, con la vida misma en vilo, si un śūdra da ese alimento en caridad a los dos veces nacidos, queda libre de pecado. El verso subraya el poder purificador de la generosidad que se sacrifica y el peso ético de dar de lo arduamente ganado».
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
That sincere charity—especially giving food earned through severe hardship and even at personal risk—has strong purificatory power and can free one from sin; the moral emphasis is on self-sacrifice and generosity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a principle about the merit of dāna: a Śūdra who donates hard-earned food to the twice-born attains release from pāpa.