Shloka 18
Agastya-Māhātmya and Vasiṣṭha’s Protection of the Ādityas
Khalina Daityas; Sarayū Etiology
व्याधिं कुलक्षयं चैव क्षिप्रं प्राप्रोति ब्राह्मण: । नगरीरक्षिणो भुड्क्ते श्वपचप्रवणो भवेत्
vyādhiṁ kulakṣayaṁ caiva kṣipraṁ prāpnoti brāhmaṇaḥ | nagarīrakṣiṇo bhuṅkte śvapacapravaṇo bhavet ||
Disse Bhishma: “Um brāhmaṇa que come tal alimento cai depressa em doença e logo traz ruína à sua linhagem. Quem partilha do alimento de um guarda da cidade inclina-se à condição de śvapaca—tratado como pária—pela mancha moral desse meio de vida.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that accepting and eating food associated with improper or morally tainted livelihoods brings serious consequences—personal suffering (disease) and social-spiritual decline (loss of lineage standing), emphasizing careful discernment in what one accepts as sustenance.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially conduct and purity norms), he warns about the ethical and ritual implications of eating certain kinds of food, citing the Brahmin’s vulnerability to downfall when consuming such provisions, including food from a city-guard.