Shloka 24
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
न हि मांसं तृणात् काष्ठादुपलाद् वापि जायते । हत्वा जन्तुं ततो मांसं तस्माद् दोषस्तु भक्षणे
na hi māṁsaṁ tṛṇāt kāṣṭhād upalād vāpi jāyate | hatvā jantuṁ tato māṁsaṁ tasmād doṣas tu bhakṣaṇe ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Fleisch entsteht weder aus Gras noch aus Holz, ja nicht einmal aus Steinen. Man erlangt es nur, indem man ein Lebewesen tötet; darum liegt im Essen von Fleisch wahrlich moralische Schuld.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Meat is inseparable from violence because it is obtained only by killing a living being; therefore, consuming it carries ethical fault (doṣa) and stands opposed to the ideal of ahiṁsā.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhīṣma is teaching principles of righteous conduct; here he argues against meat-eating by pointing out its causal link to the killing of creatures.