Shloka 43
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
तथा राजन्यवैश्याभ्यां यद्यश्नरीयात्तु केतित: । यवीयान् पशुहिंसायां भागार्ध समवाप्लुयात्
tathā rājanya-vaiśyābhyāṁ yady aśnīyāt tu ketitaḥ | yavīyān paśu-hiṁsāyāṁ bhāgārdhaṁ samavāpnuyāt ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, si un homme, déjà invité en bonne et due forme par un kṣatriya ou un vaiśya, va ailleurs et y prend son repas, il est tenu pour blâmable et encourt une part—la moitié—du péché lié à la violence faite aux animaux (pour ce repas).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should honor a prior invitation, especially in a context where food preparation may involve animal slaughter; by eating elsewhere after accepting an invitation, one becomes morally complicit and is said to incur half the demerit associated with the animal-violence enabled by that arrangement.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king on dharma and conduct, he explains a rule of ethical responsibility: when a Kshatriya or Vaishya has already invited someone for a meal, the invitee should not disregard it and dine elsewhere, because such disregard carries social blame and karmic consequence tied to the meal’s violence.