Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 57
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
बृस््यां दर्भेषु हव्ये च कव्ये च मुनिसत्तम । एतेन कर्मदोषेण पुरोधास्त्वमजायथा:
bṛsyāṃ darbheṣu havye ca kavye ca munisattama | etena karmadoṣeṇa purodhās tvam ajāyathāḥ ||
हे मुनिश्रेष्ठ! आपने मुझे आसन और दर्भ के विधिपूर्वक विन्यास का, तथा हव्य (देवों के लिये) और कव्य (पितरों के लिये) अर्पण करने का उपदेश दिया था। पर उसी कर्म-विधान में हुए दोष के कारण आपको इस जन्म में पुरोहित होना पड़ा।
पुरोहित उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual knowledge and priestly function are tied to karma: even one who teaches correct procedure regarding sacred implements and offerings may, due to a defect in ritual action (karmadoṣa), experience a particular birth and social role. The verse underscores ethical seriousness and accountability in sacrificial conduct.
The speaker (the purohita) addresses a revered sage, recalling earlier instruction on arranging darbha grass and making havya and kavya offerings. He then states that because of a fault connected with those ritual acts, the sage has taken birth in this life as a household priest.