Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.23.8

dīkṣāyāḥ paśu-saḿsthāyāḥ

sautrāmaṇyāś ca sattamāḥ

anyatra dīkṣitasyāpi

nānnam aśnan hi duṣyati

SYNONYMS

dīkṣāyāḥ — beginning with the initiation for a sacrifice; paśu-saḿsthāyāḥ — until sacrificing the animal; sautrāmaṇyāḥ — outside of the sacrifice known as Sautrāmaṇi; ca — and; sat-tamāḥ — O purest ones; anyatra — elsewhere; dīkṣitasya — of one who has been initiated for the sacrifice; api — even; na — not; annam — food; aśnan — eating; hi — indeed; duṣyati — creates offense.

TRANSLATION

Except during the interval between the initiation of the performer of a sacrifice and the actual sacrifice of the animal, O most pure brāhmaṇas, it is not contaminating for even the initiated to partake of food, at least in sacrifices other than the Sautrāmaṇi.

PURPORT

The cowherd boys anticipated the possible objection from the brāhmaṇas that they couldn't give the boys any food because they themselves had not yet eaten, and that a priest initiated to perform a sacrifice should not eat. Therefore the boys humbly informed the brāhmaṇas about various technicalities of ritualistic sacrifice. The cowherd boys were not unaware of the formalities of Vedic culture, but their real intention was simply to render loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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