अभक्ष्यमांसनिर्णयःMeats not to be eaten
Verse 108
नरमांसं न भुञ्जीयात् नराकृतिपशूंस्तथा । बहूपकारकान् गाश्च मांसादान् रसवर्जितान् ॥ १०८ ॥
naramāṁsaṁ na bhuñjīyāt narākṛtipaśūṁstathā | bahūpakārakān gāśca māṁsādān rasavarjitān || 108 ||
Translation
He should not eat human flesh, nor animals of human form, nor cows, which are of great service, nor flesh-eating animals, nor what is without savour.
Word by word
- nara
- human
- māṁsaṁ
- flesh
- na
- not
- bhuñjīyāt
- he should eat
- ākṛti
- of form
- paśūṁs
- (paśūn) animals
- tathā
- nor
- bahu
- great
- upakārakān
- of service
- gāś
- (gāḥ) cows
- ca
- and
- māṁsa
- flesh
- adān
- eating
- rasa
- savour
- varjitān
- without
Meaning
The forbidden meats. Human flesh, first; then "animals of human form", apes and monkeys; cows, and here the commentary points out that the epithet "of great service" (bahūpakāraka) gives the reason they are not eaten; carnivorous animals and birds, such as vultures; and "rasa-varjita", what is without taste or savour, stale or spoiled food. The commentary reads verses 108 and 109 together.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
By the word "bahūpakārakān", "of great service", an epithet of the cows, the reason for forbidding their flesh as food is shown. Māṁsādān: flesh-eaters, vultures and the like. Rasavarjitān: without taste. (This explanation covers verses 108 and 109.)