Shloka 20
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
अवाप्य प्राणसंदेहं कार्कश्येन समार्जितम् । अन्न दत्त्वा द्विजातिभ्य: शूद्र: पापात् प्रमुच्यते
avāpya prāṇasaṃdehaṃ kārkśyena samārjitam | annaṃ dattvā dvijātibhyaḥ śūdraḥ pāpāt pramucyate |
ユディシュティラは言った。「たとえ命さえ危ういほどの苛烈な労苦によって得たものであっても、シュードラがその食を二度生まれし者たちへ布施するなら、罪より解き放たれる。この偈は、身を削る施しの浄化力と、汗して得た糧から与えることの倫理的重みを示す。」
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
That sincere charity—especially giving food earned through severe hardship and even at personal risk—has strong purificatory power and can free one from sin; the moral emphasis is on self-sacrifice and generosity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a principle about the merit of dāna: a Śūdra who donates hard-earned food to the twice-born attains release from pāpa.