Shloka 22
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
चतुरो मागधी सूते क्रूरान् मायोपजीविन: । मांसं स्वादुकरं क्षौद्रं सौगन्धमिति विश्रुतम्
caturo māgadhī sūte krūrān māyopajīvinaḥ | māṁsaṁ svādukaraṁ kṣaudraṁ saugandham iti viśrutam ||
Bhīṣma said: “The Māgadhī woman bore four sons—cruel men who lived by deceit. They became notorious for producing and peddling things famed as ‘tasty meat,’ ‘honey,’ and ‘fragrance’—goods associated with sensual allure and moral corruption.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of livelihoods rooted in māyā (deceit). By associating certain alluring commodities—food sweetness and fragrance—with notoriety and cruelty, Bhīṣma underscores that attractive sensory goods can be instruments of adharma when produced or traded through deception.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, recounts a detail about a Māgadhī woman who bore four cruel, deceit-dependent men. Their fame is tied to producing/marketing items described as tasty meat, honey, and fragrance—serving as an illustrative example within a broader moral discourse.