Shloka 42
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
खादकस्य कृते जन्तून् यो हन्यात् पुरुषाधम: । महादोषतरस्तत्र घातको न तु खादक:
khādakasya kṛte jantūn yo hanyāt puruṣādhamaḥ | mahādoṣataras tatra ghātako na tu khādakaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wer Lebewesen tötet, damit ein anderer sie esse, ist der Niedrigste unter den Menschen. In dieser Sache lädt der Täter eine weit schwerere Schuld auf sich; der Fleischesser trägt nicht ein gleiches Maß an Schuld.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse assigns heavier moral culpability to the direct agent of violence (the killer) than to the consumer, emphasizing that facilitating harm through killing for others’ appetite is especially blameworthy.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instructions, Bhīṣma continues advising on ethical conduct; here he comments on the moral hierarchy of fault in the context of animal slaughter and meat consumption.