Shloka 19
गोघ्ने च ब्राह्मणघ्ने च सुरापे गुरुतल्पगे । भुक्त्वान्नं जायते विप्रो रक्षसां कुलवर्धन:
goghne ca brāhmaṇaghne ca surāpe gurutalpage | bhuktvānnaṁ jāyate vipro rakṣasāṁ kulavardhanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Si un brāhmaṇa come el alimento de quien ha matado una vaca, o ha matado a un brāhmaṇa, o ha bebido licor embriagante, o ha mancillado el lecho del maestro, ese brāhmaṇa—por el solo hecho de aceptar tal comida—se convierte en promotor del linaje de los rākṣasas».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that accepting food is not morally neutral: a brāhmaṇa who eats the food of perpetrators of the gravest sins (cow-killing, brāhmaṇa-killing, drinking liquor, violating the guru’s bed) incurs severe ethical and spiritual taint, described as becoming a supporter of rākṣasa-lineage—i.e., aligned with demonic conduct.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he lists extreme transgressors and warns about the consequences for a brāhmaṇa who partakes of their food, emphasizing rules of association, purity, and responsibility in social exchange.