Shloka 16
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
वातपित्तकफाद् रक्त त्वड्मांसं स्नायुमस्थि च । मज्जां देहं शिराजालैस्तर्पयन्ति रसा नृणाम्,भोजनसे प्राप्त हुए रस नाड़ीसमूहोंद्वारा संचरित होकर मनुष्योंके वात, पित्त, कफ, रक्त, त्वचा, मांस, स्नायु, अस्थि, चर्बी एवं सम्पूर्ण शरीरको तृप्त एवं पुष्ट करते हैं
vāta-pitta-kaphād raktaṁ tvag-māṁsaṁ snāyum asthi ca | majjāṁ dehaṁ śirā-jālaiḥ tarpayanti rasā nṛṇām ||
يبيّن بهيشما أن «الرَسَ» (rasa)، أي خلاصة الغذاء، إذا دخلت الجسد دارت في شبكة القنوات، فغذّت أخلاط الحياة—فاتا (الريح)، بيتّا (الصفراء)، كافا (البلغم)—كما غذّت الدم والجلد واللحم والأوتار والعظام والنخاع؛ وبذلك تسند الجسد كله وتقوّيه. وتؤكد التعاليم أن التغذية المنضبطة أساسٌ للثبات في الحياة وفي الدارما.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food, when properly digested, becomes rasa—the nourishing essence—which circulates through bodily channels and sustains all tissues and humors. Ethical living (dharma) is supported by bodily steadiness, so disciplined nourishment is presented as a practical foundation for self-control and right conduct.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he describes how nourishment works within the body: the essence of food spreads through a network of vessels and strengthens the humors and bodily constituents, thereby sustaining the whole person.