Shloka 5
शूद्राणामथ यो भुड्धक्ते स भुड्क्ते पृथिवीमलम् । मल॑ नृणां स पिबति मलं॑ भुद्ठक्ते जनस्य च,जो द्विज शूद्रोंके चरका अन्न खाता है, वह समस्त पृथ्वी और सम्पूर्ण मनुष्योंक मलका ही पान और भक्षण करता है
śūdrāṇām atha yo bhuṅkte sa bhuṅkte pṛthivīm malam | malaṁ nṛṇāṁ sa pibati malaṁ bhuṅkte janasya ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Quiconque prend part à la nourriture des śūdras, en vérité, consomme l’impureté, comme s’il mangeait la fange même de la terre. Il boit l’impureté des hommes et mange l’impureté du peuple.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that eating food associated with Śūdras is considered ritually and ethically defiling, and it warns that such consumption is tantamount to consuming impurity itself. It reflects a dharmaśāstric view that food intake can transmit moral/ritual qualities and thus must be regulated.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he delivers a strict admonition about dietary restrictions and the perceived consequences of accepting or eating certain kinds of food.