Shloka 19
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
संरब्ध एव भूतानां पृष्ठमांसमभक्षयम् | सो<हं तेन च वृत्तेन भोजनेन च तेन वै
saṃrabdha eva bhūtānāṃ pṛṣṭhamāṃsam abhakṣayam | so 'haṃ tena ca vṛttena bhojanena ca tena vai
Le Caṇḍāla dit : «Poussé par une nécessité farouche, j’ai mangé la chair du dos des créatures. Ainsi, par cette manière de vivre —et par cette nourriture même— je suis devenu ce que je suis.»
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links one’s condition and identity to one’s chosen (or compelled) livelihood and diet: conduct and sustenance shape character and consequences, highlighting karmic and ethical accountability even under hardship.
A Caṇḍāla speaks in self-disclosure, explaining that under pressing necessity he consumed the flesh of creatures; he attributes his present state to that past way of living and the food associated with it.