Shloka 16
अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
युधिषछ्िर उवाच यदि ते ब्राह्मणा लोके व्रतिनो भुञ्जते हवि: । दत्तं ब्राह्गकामाय कथं तत् सुकृतं भवेत्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca yadi te brāhmaṇā loke vratino bhuñjate haviḥ | dattaṃ brāhma-kāmāya kathaṃ tat sukṛtaṃ bhavet ||
ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಪಿತಾಮಹಾ! ಈ ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ರತಧಾರಿಗಳಾದ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರು ಶ್ರಾದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಹವಿಷ್ಯಾನ್ನವನ್ನು ಭುಂಜಿಸಿದರೆ, ‘ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮ’ (ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ) ಫಲವನ್ನು ಬಯಸಿ ನೀಡಿದ ದಾನ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಫಲ ಪುಣ್ಯಕರ್ಮವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ?
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises an ethical-ritual doubt: when recipients are under strict vows, does accepting and eating śrāddha havis affect the merit of the donor’s gift? It probes how intention (kāma), recipient-eligibility, and ritual context together determine whether a donation becomes true sukṛta (merit).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma (the grandsire) about dharma. Here he asks how a śrāddha-gift aimed at high religious merit can be considered successful if vow-observing Brahmins partake of the havis food, implying a potential conflict between their vrata-discipline and śrāddha consumption.