Shloka 50
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
उसने बड़े आदरके साथ हाथ जोड़कर नेत्रोंसे आँसू बहाते हुए वहाँ विश्वामित्रसे कहा --“ब्रह्मन! इस रातके समय आपकी यह कैसी चेष्टा है?--आप क्या करना चाहते हैं?” ।।
ghapaca uvāca: sa bāhu-yojitāñjaliḥ netrābhyāṃ aśrūṇi muñcan tatra viśvāmitram uvāca— “brāhmaṇa! asmin rātri-samaye tava iyaṃ kīdṛśī ceṣṭā? kiṃ kartum icchasi?” || 49 || viśvāmitras tu mātajram uvāca pari-sāntvayan— “bhrātaḥ! kṣudhito ’haṃ gata-prāṇaḥ; ato ’haṃ śva-jāghanim hariṣyāmi.”
Si Caṇḍāla, dengan tangan terkatup penuh hormat dan air mata mengalir dari matanya, berkata kepada Viśvāmitra: “Wahai Brahmana, mengapa engkau melakukan perbuatan yang ganjil pada waktu malam begini? Apa yang hendak engkau lakukan?” Namun Viśvāmitra menenangkannya dan menjawab: “Saudaraku, aku tersiksa oleh lapar; nyawaku kian meredup. Karena itu aku akan mengambil paha anjing ini.”
घपच उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma can become conflicted under extreme distress: preserving life (prāṇa-rakṣaṇa) may press against ordinary rules of purity and permitted food. It also models humane speech—Viśvāmitra consoles and addresses the other as “brother,” indicating compassion even amid transgression driven by necessity.
At night, an outcaste man (Ghapaca/caṇḍāla figure) sees Viśvāmitra attempting to take a dog’s thigh and, with tears and folded hands, questions him. Viśvāmitra replies that he is starving and near death, so he intends to take the meat.