Shloka 17
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
एतानिमान् विजानीयादपांक्तेयान् द्विजाधमान् । शूद्राणामुपदेशं च ये कुर्वन्त्यल्पचेतस:
etān imān vijānīyād apāṅkteyān dvijādhamān | śūdrāṇām upadeśaṁ ca ye kurvanty alpacetasaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “These men should be recognized as unfit to sit in the sacred dining line—base among the twice-born. Those of little understanding who give Vedic instruction to Śūdras are likewise to be regarded as apāṅkteya, excluded from the communal rite.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines a category of ritual and social disqualification (apāṅkteya): those considered morally/ritually fallen among the twice-born, including (in this passage’s norm-setting) Brahmins who give Vedic instruction to Śūdras, are said to be excluded from the communal sacred dining line.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is delivering extended instruction on dharma—especially conduct, ritual norms, and social-religious boundaries. Here he specifies who should be treated as ‘outside the line’ (apāṅkteya) in ritual contexts.