Shloka 11
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
तथैव शृणु मे भक्त भक्तानि षडनश्रतः । अश्वस्तनविधानेन हर्तव्यं हीनकर्मण:
tathaiva śṛṇu me bhakta bhaktāni ṣaḍanaśrataḥ | aśvastanavidhānena hartavyaṃ hīnakarmaṇaḥ, yudhiṣṭhira |
ビーシュマは言った。「同じく、食について私の語るところを聞け。ユディシュティラよ、もし婆羅門が食糧欠乏のために六度の食時を続けて口にできなかったなら、その境遇においては、卑しい行いの者の家から、一日分の食を支えるに足るだけの財を取ってよい。ただし翌日のために蓄えを残してはならぬ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme distress (hunger), dharma allows a narrowly limited exception: a starving Brahmin may take only the minimum needed for one day’s sustenance, specifically from a person of base conduct, and must not accumulate for the next day. The emphasis is restraint, necessity, and non-hoarding even in crisis.
During Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Shanti Parva, he continues outlining rules of conduct for times of calamity (āpaddharma). Here he addresses what may be done when food is unavailable, setting a strict boundary on what can be taken and from whom.