Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
राजन! यह मैंने तुम्हें ऋषियोंद्वारा निर्मित मांस-त्यागका विधान तथा प्रवृत्तिविषयक धर्म भी बताया है ।। इति श्रीमहाभारते अनुशासनपर्वणि दानधर्मपर्वणि मांसभक्षणनिषेधे पजञ्चदशाधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
rājan! yad aham tvāṁ ṛṣibhir nirmitaṁ māṁsa-tyāga-vidhānaṁ tathā pravṛtti-viṣayakaṁ dharmaṁ ca vyākhyātavān asmi.
Bhīṣma sprach: «O König, ich habe dir die von den ṛṣi festgelegte Regel der Fleischenthaltung erklärt und ebenso das Dharma dargelegt, das die rechte Lebensführung in Fragen der pravṛtti (des weltlichen Tätigseins) ordnet.»
भीष्म उवाच
Bhīṣma summarizes that he has already taught two connected points: (1) the sages’ injunction advocating abstention from meat, and (2) the broader pravṛtti-oriented dharma—ethical guidance for those living an active, worldly life.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s discourse on gifts and dharma, Bhīṣma concludes a section on the prohibition of meat-eating, reminding King Yudhiṣṭhira that the relevant rules and their ethical rationale have been explained.