Shloka 73
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
विश्वामित्र उवाच शिष्टा वै कारणं धर्मे तद्वृत्तमनुवर्तये । परां मेध्याशनामेनां भक्ष्यां मन्ये श्वजाघनीम्
viśvāmitra uvāca | śiṣṭā vai kāraṇaṃ dharme tadvṛttam anuvartaye | parāṃ medhyāśanām enāṃ bhakṣyāṃ manye śvajāghanīm |
毗湿瓦密多说道：“有教养、有戒律之人的行止，确是达摩的根源与准绳；我遵循他们的生活之道。因此，我认为这狗腿也可食用，犹如清净而已被祝圣的食物一般。”
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is grounded in the lived conduct of exemplary persons (śiṣṭācāra). Viśvāmitra argues that right action is not only a matter of rigid rules of purity, but also of discerning adherence to the guiding standards embodied by the wise, even when circumstances force difficult choices.
Viśvāmitra justifies eating an otherwise impure food—meat from a dog’s thigh—by appealing to dharma as guided by the practice of the righteous. The statement frames his action as an ethically reasoned exception rather than mere indulgence.