Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 62: Śunaḥśepa Saved
Text 1.62.14
कथमात्मसुतान्हित्वा त्रायसेऽन्यसुतं विभो।
अकार्यमिव पश्यामः श्वमांसमिव भोजने॥
katham ātma-sutān hitvā trāyase ‘nya-sutaṁ vibho
akāryam iva paśyāmaḥ śva-māṁsam iva bhojane
katham ātma-sutān hitvā = neglecting your own sons; trāyase anya-sutaṁ = you want to protect someone else’s son; vibho = O great one; akāryam iva paśyāmaḥ = we consider this to be forbidden; śva-māṁsam iva bhojane = like eating the flesh of a dog.
O great one, neglecting your own sons, you want to protect someone else’s son? We consider this to be forbidden, like eating the flesh of a dog.
Madhuṣyanda and other sons of Viśvāmitra considered that Viśvāmitra’s proposal was like preferring to engage in a forbidden activity, like eating the flesh of a dog when one has [authorized] edible food at hand.