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 dit : «Même si, par un labeur rude, il l’a gagné au péril de sa vie, si un Śūdra donne cette nourriture en aumône aux deux-fois-nés, il est délivré du péché. Le verset met en lumière la puissance purificatrice d’une générosité qui s’offre elle-même, et la valeur morale de donner de ce qui fut durement acquis.»
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.