Shloka 2

अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः

Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणानां विशेषेण हव्यकव्यप्रतिग्रहे । नानाविधेषु भोज्येषु प्रायश्चित्तानि शंस मे

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |

brāhmaṇānāṁ viśeṣeṇa havyakavyapratigrahe |

nānāvidheṣu bhojyeṣu prāyaścittāni śaṁsa me ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Đặc biệt đối với các bà-la-môn, những người phải nhận lễ vật dâng cho chư thần (havis) và lễ vật dâng cho tổ tiên (kavya), lại có thể gặp nhiều loại thức ăn khác nhau, thì những phép sám hối (prāyaścitta) nào được quy định? Xin ngài chỉ dạy.”

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष

• हव्यकव्यप्रतिग्रहे: in the acceptance of havya and kavya (offerings to gods and ancestors)
• हव्यकव्यप्रतिग्रहे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हव्यकव्यप्रतिग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• नाना-विधेषु: in various kinds (of)
• नाना-विधेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नानाविध
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Plural

• भोज्येषु: in foods fit to be eaten / eatables
• भोज्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोज्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• प्रायश्चित्तानि: expiations
• प्रायश्चित्तानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• शंस: tell / declare
• शंस: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शंस्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Dative, Singular

Speaker

युधिषछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• ब्राह्मण (brāhmaṇa)
• हव्य (havya)
• कव्य (kavya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical-ritual dilemma: brahmins, by duty, receive sacrificial and ancestral offerings and may encounter diverse foods; Yudhiṣṭhira asks what prāyaścitta (expiation) applies when such necessary acceptance risks impurity or fault. The focus is on reconciling livelihood/ritual roles with standards of purity and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the authority figure teaching dharma about the proper expiations for brahmins who accept havya and kavya and partake of various foods—situations that can create doubt about sin, contamination, or improper acceptance.