Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 17
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
उग्रान्नं गर्हितं देवि गणान्न॑ श्राद्धसूतकम् । दुष्टान्न नैव भोक्तव्यं शूद्रान्नं नैव कर्हिचित्
ugrānnaṁ garhitaṁ devi gaṇānnaṁ śrāddha-sūtakam | duṣṭānnaṁ naiva bhoktavyaṁ śūdrānnaṁ naiva karhicit ||
देवि! उग्र स्वभाव वाले मनुष्य का अन्न निन्दित है। किसी समुदाय की अशौच-स्थिति से जुड़ा अन्न, श्राद्ध का अन्न, जननाशौच का अन्न, दुष्ट पुरुष का अन्न—और शूद्र का अन्न भी—कभी नहीं खाना चाहिए।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that eating is a dharmic act with ritual and moral consequences; therefore one should avoid food linked to censured sources—cruel or wicked persons and contexts marked by impurity (such as birth-impurity) or certain rites (śrāddha)—as framed by the text’s purity-based code of conduct.
Śrī Mahēśvara addresses Devī and lays down prescriptive rules about what kinds of food should not be accepted or eaten, presenting them as part of a broader instruction on proper conduct (ācāra) and purity within the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-discourse.