Shloka 21
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
औरसेन बलेनान्नमर्जयित्वाविहिंसक: । यः प्रयच्छति विप्रेभ्यो न स दुर्गाणि पश्यति,जो किसी प्राणीकी हिंसा न करके अपनी छातीके बलसे पैदा किया हुआ अन्न विप्रोंको दान करता है, वह कभी संकटका अनुभव नहीं करता
aurasena balenānnam arjayitvā vihiṁsakaḥ | yaḥ prayacchati viprebhyo na sa durgāṇi paśyati ||
Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Người nào không làm hại bất cứ sinh linh nào, tự sức thân mình mà kiếm ăn, rồi đem chính thức ăn ấy bố thí cho các brāhmaṇa, thì người ấy không phải chứng kiến tai ương hay khốn khó.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links three virtues—non-violence (ahiṃsā), honest self-earned livelihood, and charitable giving to worthy recipients (vipras)—and teaches that such integrated dharmic conduct protects one from falling into severe distress.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a moral principle about household life: food earned through one’s own effort without harming beings, when shared as charity with brāhmaṇas, becomes a source of security and well-being rather than hardship.