Chapter III · Śloka 13
यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः |
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ||
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ||
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ |
bhuñjate te tv aghaṃ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt ||
bhuñjate te tv aghaṃ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt ||
The righteous who eat the remnants of sacrifice are freed from all sins. But the wicked who cook only for themselves eat only sin.
The imagery is of the sacred meal shared after an offering — eating what remains after the gods have been fed. To eat first, for oneself alone, is to invert the sacred order and consume one's own moral substance.