Shloka 70

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

श्षपच उवाच पज्च पञ्चनखा भक्ष्या ब्रद्मक्षत्रस्य वै विश: । यथा शास्त्र प्रमाणं ते माभक्ष्ये मानसं कृथा:

Transliteration

śvapaca uvāca | pañca pañcanakhā bhakṣyā brahmakṣatrasya vai viśaḥ | yathā śāstra-pramāṇaṁ te mābhakṣye mānasaṁ kṛthāḥ ||

Translation

烹犬者说道：“依经典之权威，婆罗门、刹帝利与吠舍在危急之时，被宣许可食五类‘五爪’之兽。若汝以经法为准，则莫令汝心趋向禁食之物。”

Word by Word

• {'śvapaca': 'a dog-cooker

• a person of a marginalized community (often used for a Caṇḍāla/outcaste), here the speaker', 'uvāca': 'said', 'pañca': 'five', 'pañcanakhāḥ': 'five-nailed/five-clawed animals (a traditional category in dharma texts)', 'bhakṣyāḥ': 'edible, permissible to be eaten', 'brahma-kṣatrasya': 'of Brahmins and Kshatriyas', 'viśaḥ': 'the Vaiśyas (commoners/merchant-agricultural class)', 'yathā': 'as, according to', 'śāstra-pramāṇam': 'scripture as authoritative proof/standard', 'te': 'for you / by you', 'mā': 'do not', 'abhakṣye': 'toward what is not to be eaten

• forbidden food', 'mānasam': 'mind, mental inclination', 'kṛthāḥ': 'make, direct (2nd person imperative)'}

Speaker

श्षपच उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śvapaca (speaker)
• Brahmin (brāhmaṇa)
• Kshatriya (kṣatriya)
• Vaishya (vaiśya)
• pañcanakha animals (five-clawed creatures, category)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Scriptural dharma is presented as the guiding standard: even when certain foods are permitted under exceptional conditions, one should restrain the mind from craving what is explicitly forbidden and align desire with śāstric limits.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Śvapaca addresses a member of the higher varṇas, invoking śāstric authority to clarify what is considered permissible food in times of necessity and admonishing the listener not to mentally pursue prohibited (abhakṣya) items.