Shloka 8
Puṣkara-Tīrtha-Māhātmya and the Phala of Pilgrimage
Nārada–Yudhiṣṭhira; Pulastya–Bhīṣma Transmission
ब्राह्मणार्थे पराक्रान्ता: शुद्धैर्बाणैर्महार था: । निध्नन्तो भरतश्रेष्ठ मेध्यान् बहुविधान् मृगान्,भरतश्रेष्ठ! वे महारथी वीर शुद्ध बाणोंद्वारा ब्राह्मणोंके (बाघम्बर आदिके) लिये पराक्रम करके नाना प्रकारके पवित्र- मृगोंको मारा करते थे
brāhmaṇārthe parākrāntāḥ śuddhair bāṇair mahārathāḥ | nighnanto bharataśreṣṭha medhyān bahuvidhān mṛgān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O best of the Bharatas, those great chariot-warriors, exerting themselves for the sake of the Brahmins, used their pure arrows to strike down many kinds of ritually fit (edible/offerable) game animals.” The line frames their hunting not as mere sport but as a duty-bound act of provision for Brahmins, invoking the ethical idea that violence may be permitted when regulated by dharma and directed toward sanctioned ends.
वैशम्पायन उवाच