Shloka 107
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
यदि तावन्न गृह्वामि ब्राह्मणेनापवर्जितम् । कथं न लिप्येयमहं पापेन महताद्य वै,यदि मैं आज ब्राह्मणकी दी हुई वस्तु ग्रहण न करूँ तो किस प्रकार महान् पापसे निर्लिप्त रह सकूँगा
yadi tāvanna gṛhvāmi brāhmaṇenāpavarjitam | kathaṃ na lipyeyam ahaṃ pāpena mahatā'dya vai ||
O brâmane disse: “Se, ainda agora, eu não aceitar aquilo que foi separado e dado por um brâmane, como poderia eu, hoje, permanecer sem mancha de um grande pecado?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames refusal or acceptance of a Brahmin-sanctioned allotment as a moral issue: when something is properly set aside and given according to dharma, declining it may itself become a cause of grave fault, because one fails to uphold the intended righteous order of giving and receiving.
A Brahmin speaker reasons aloud about a dilemma: he considers that if he does not take what another Brahmin has duly assigned or offered, he fears he will incur great sin rather than remain pure—indicating a context where proper acceptance is treated as a duty, not mere desire.