मधुकैटभवधोपाख्यानम्
The Account of the Slaying of Madhu and Kaiṭabha
शिष्टान्यन्नानि यो भुड्धक्ते कि वै सुखतरं ततः । अतो मृष्टतरं नान्यत् पूतं किज्चिच्छतक्रतो
śiṣṭāny annāni yo bhuṅkte kiṃ vai sukhataram tataḥ | ato mṛṣṭataraṃ nānyat pūtaṃ kiñcic chatakrato ||
ബകൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ശിഷ്ടന്മാർ അംഗീകരിച്ച, യുക്തമായ അന്നം ഭുജിക്കുന്നതിലേറെ സുഖകരമായത് മറ്റെന്തുണ്ട്? ഹേ ശതക്രതു (ഇന്ദ്രാ)! ഇതിലേറെ രുചികരമായതുമില്ല; ഇതിലേറെ പവിത്രമായതുമില്ല।
बक उवाच
The verse praises food that is ‘śiṣṭa’—proper and sanctioned by the virtuous—as the most pleasant and the purest. Ethical propriety and purity of means are presented as superior to mere sensory taste.
Baka addresses Indra (Śatakratu) and asserts that nothing surpasses the delight and purity of eating food that is proper and approved by the righteous, framing the discussion in terms of moral and ritual cleanliness.