Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 21
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
जो ब्राह्मण शूद्रोंके साथ एक पंक्तिमें भोजन कर लेता है, वह अशुद्ध हो जाता है। अतः उनकी शुद्धिके लिये शास्त्रीय विधिके अनुसार यहाँ शौचका विधान है ।।
yastu vaiśyaiḥ sahāśrīyād brāhmaṇo ’py ekabhojane | sa vai trirātraṃ dīkṣitvā mucyate tena karmaṇā ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Kung kahit isang brāhmaṇa ay makikain sa iisang hanay kasama ng mga vaiśya, nagkakaroon siya ng dungis na pang-ritwal. Sa pagsasagawa ng isang banal na pagtalima sa loob ng tatlong gabi, siya’y napapalaya sa kamaliang ibinunga ng gawaing iyon. Ipinakikita ng aral ang pag-iingat ng śāstra sa mga itinakdang hangganan ng asal at ang pag-iral ng disiplina ng pagbabayad-sala upang maibalik ang kalinisan at kaayusang panlipunan-panrelihiyon.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain forms of commensality are treated as a breach of prescribed ritual-social boundaries, but the tradition also provides a defined expiation: a three-night consecrated observance (trirātra-dīkṣā) to remove the fault and restore purity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma lays down a specific rule about eating together (ekabhojana) and states the corresponding prāyaścitta: a brāhmaṇa who has eaten in the same line with vaiśyas should observe a three-night vow to be freed from the resulting impurity.