Shloka 18
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
षष्टिं काण: शतं षण्ढ: श्रित्री यावत्प्रपश्यति । पंक््त्यां समुपविष्टायां तावद् दूषयते नृप
ṣaṣṭiṁ kāṇaḥ śataṁ ṣaṇḍhaḥ śvitri yāvat prapaśyati | paṅktyāṁ samupaviṣṭāyāṁ tāvad dūṣayate nṛpa rājān |
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, il est enseigné que, lorsque les gens sont assis ensemble en rang pour le repas, un borgne souille soixante personnes ; un impuissant, cent ; et celui qui est atteint de lèpre blanche souille autant de personnes qu’il peut en voir. On veut ainsi souligner la nécessité de garde-fous rituels et sociaux dans les actes accomplis en commun, afin que ce qui est entrepris comme observance pure et conforme au dharma ne soit pas réputé compromis.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a dharma-śāstric notion that communal rites—especially shared dining—are considered vulnerable to ‘ritual taint’ from certain stigmatized conditions, emphasizing vigilance about purity rules in collective observances.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing the king on dharma and proper conduct; here he cites a traditional rule about how impurity is thought to spread within a seated dining line, using numerical measures to underline the seriousness of maintaining ritual order.