Shloka 5
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
चाण्डाल उवाच ब्राह्मणस्य गवां राजन् द्वियतीनां रज: पुरा । सोममुध्वंसयामास त॑ सोम॑ येडपिबन् द्विजा:
cāṇḍāla uvāca | brāhmaṇasya gavāṃ rājan dvijatīnāṃ rajaḥ purā | somam udhvaṃsayāmāsa tat somaṃ ye ’dapiban dvijāḥ ||
O Caṇḍāla disse: “Ó rei, há muito tempo algumas vacas pertencentes a um brāhmaṇa foram tomadas e levadas à força. Enquanto eram tangidas, a poeira de seus cascos—misturada a minúsculas gotas de leite—caiu sobre o Soma e o corrompeu. Os dvija que beberam aquele Soma, e o rei que havia recebido a iniciação sacrificial para esse rito, caíram depressa no inferno. Junto com os sacerdotes oficiantes, o rei tornou-se destinado ao inferno, pois o sacrifício foi sustentado por riqueza tomada de um brāhmaṇa.”
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
A sacrifice does not become meritorious merely by correct ritual form; if it is supported by stolen or unrighteous wealth, it becomes tainted, and both patron and priests share the karmic consequence.
The Caṇḍāla recounts an earlier incident: cows belonging to a Brāhmaṇa were unlawfully taken; as they were driven away, dust from their hooves fell into the Soma and defiled it. Those who drank it—together with the initiated king and officiants connected with the rite—incurred grave downfall because the ritual was linked to the wrongdoing.