Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s3.44

c6.s3.44

One of the most crucial debates in *Mahābhārata* occurs when Viśvāmitra, facing death out of starvation, stole dog’s meat from the house of an untouchable (*cāṇḍāla*), just to keep himself alive in the days of famine. Caught red-handed in this act, he is questioned about the propriety of his action, which is so unbecoming of him, by the *cāṇḍāla*, who appears to be more concerned about the loss of *dharma* which this theft would cause for the noble sage. The whole episode presents a feast of arguments and counter-arguments in the prolonged debate between the sage and the untouchable. It examines a man’s action in utter crisis with an analysis of his choice between his own death and a harmless sin. *Cāṇḍāla* starts preaching the sage on the importance of saving the *dharma*. “This act of yours would not be called a sin had it been to save some other person” — he says. Viśvāmitra retorts by saying that his own body is his friend, and allowing this friend to die out of hunger would cause a bigger loss of *dharma* to him than the sinful act of stealth.⁷⁵