śrī-śukaḥ uvāca - Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; saudāsaḥ - King Saudāsa; mṛgayām - in hunting; kiñcit - sometimes; caran - wandering; rakṣaḥ - a Rākṣasa, or man-eater; jaghāna - killed; ha - in the past; mumoca - released; bhrātaram - the brother of that Rākṣasa; saḥ - that brother; atha - thereafter; gataḥ - went; praticikīrṣayā - for taking revenge; sañcintayan - he thought; agham - to do some harm; rājñaḥ - of the King; sūda-rūpa-dharaḥ - disguised himself as a cook; gṛhe - in the house; gurave - unto the King's spiritual master; bhoktu-kāmāya - who came there to take dinner; paktvā - after cooking; ninye - gave him; nara-āmiṣam - the flesh of a human being.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Once Saudāsa went to live in the forest, where he killed a man-eater [Rākṣasa] but forgave and released the man-eater’s brother. That brother, however, decided to take revenge. Thinking to harm the King, he became the cook at the King’s house. One day, the King’s spiritual master, Vasiṣṭha Muni, was invited for dinner, and the Rākṣasa cook served him human flesh.