Shloka 18
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
द्विजेभ्यो वेदवृद्धेभ्य: प्रयतः सुसमाहित: । तेनापोहति धर्मात्मन् दुष्कृतं कर्म पाण्डव
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
dvijebhyo vedavṛddhebhyaḥ prayataḥ susamāhitaḥ |
tenāpohati dharmātman duṣkṛtaṃ karma pāṇḍava ||
ಧರ್ಮಾತ್ಮ ಪಾಂಡವ! ಯಾರು ನಿಯಮಶೀಲನಾಗಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಸಮಾಹಿತಚಿತ್ತನಾಗಿ, ತನ್ನ ಬಾಹುಬಲದಿಂದ ಸಂಪಾದಿಸಿದ ಅನ್ನವನ್ನು ವೇದವೃದ್ಧ ದ್ವಿಜರಿಗೆ ಯಥಾವಿಧಿಯಾಗಿ ದಾನಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೋ, ಅವನು ಆ ಅನ್ನದಾನದ ಪ್ರಭಾವದಿಂದ ಪೂರ್ವಕೃತ ದುಷ್ಕರ್ಮಗಳನ್ನು ತೊಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾನೆ.
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disciplined, sincere giving—especially offering food to Veda-learned Brāhmaṇas—functions as a moral purifier, removing the stain of prior wrongdoing; charity is framed as part of righteous kṣatriya conduct rather than exploitation.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Pāṇḍava interlocutor and states a dharma principle: when one, with a composed mind, donates sustenance to Vedic elders, the merit of that act dispels past sinful actions.