Shloka 23
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
भासा हंसा: सुपर्णाश्न॒ चक्रवाका: प्लवा बका: | काको मदगुश्न गृध्रश्च श्येनोलूकस्तथैव च
bhāsā haṃsāḥ suparṇāś ca cakravākāḥ plavā bakāḥ | kāko madguś ca gṛdhraś ca śyenolūkas tathaiva ca ||
Vyāsa dit : «Les oiseaux bhāsa, les cygnes, les suparṇa (oiseaux semblables à Garuḍa), les cakravāka, les canards, les hérons, les corbeaux, les oiseaux madgu, les vautours, les faucons et les hiboux — ceux-là et les créatures de même nature doivent être tenus pour impropres à la consommation (abhakṣya).»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contributes to dharmic guidance on food by listing birds considered abhakṣya (not fit to be eaten), emphasizing purity, restraint, and avoidance of creatures linked with predation or scavenging.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa is presenting normative rules of conduct; here he enumerates specific kinds of birds as prohibited items of consumption within a broader ethical discussion of proper living.