Shloka 5
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अवषुष्ट च यद् भुक्तमव्रतेन च भारत । परामृष्टं शुना चैव तं भागं रक्षसां विदु:
avaṣuṣṭaṃ ca yad bhuktam avratena ca bhārata | parāmṛṣṭaṃ śunā caiva taṃ bhāgaṃ rakṣasāṃ viduḥ ||
பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—பாரதா! பொதுமக்கள் முன் அறிவிக்கப்பட்ட (ஒதுக்கப்பட்டதாகக் கூறப்பட்ட) உணவு, விரத-தூய்மை இல்லாதவன் உண்டது, அல்லது நாய் தொட்டது—அதுவும் ராக்ஷஸர்களின் பங்கென கருதப்படுகிறது.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food intended for righteous use must be protected by discipline (vrata/ācāra) and purity; once it is improperly claimed, eaten by an undisciplined person, or contaminated (e.g., by a dog), it becomes unfit for dharmic consumption and is figuratively assigned to rākṣasas.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira on right conduct, he lists conditions under which food becomes ritually tainted—publicly called out/claimed, eaten by an avratin, or touched by a dog—and states that such a portion is regarded as belonging to rākṣasas, i.e., outside the sphere of proper human religious eating.