Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 58
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
नेदं सम्यग् व्यवसितं महर्षे धर्मगर्हितम् । चाण्डालस्वस्य हरणमभक्ष्यस्य विशेषत:
nedaṃ samyag vyavasitaṃ maharṣe dharmagarhitam | cāṇḍālasvasya haraṇam abhakṣyasya viśeṣataḥ ||
महर्षे! आपने जो निश्चय किया है, वह उचित नहीं; धर्म की दृष्टि से निन्दनीय है। चाण्डाल के धन का—विशेषतः अभक्ष्य पदार्थ का—अपहरण तो विशेष रूप से धर्म द्वारा गर्हित है।
घपच उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that a decision leading to the seizure of another’s property is morally censured, and that taking what is associated with prohibited consumption (abhakṣya) is especially blameworthy; dharma requires restraint and ethical means even under pressure.
A speaker addresses a great sage and objects to the sage’s intended course of action, criticizing it as contrary to dharma—specifically, the planned taking of a Caṇḍāla’s belongings, with emphasis on the impropriety of appropriating forbidden substances.