Shloka 76
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
एतत्ते कथितं राजन् मांसस्य परिवर्जने । प्रवृत्ती च निवृत्ती च विधानमृषिनिर्मितम्
etatte kathitaṃ rājan māṃsasya parivarjane | pravṛttī ca nivṛttī ca vidhānam ṛṣinirmitam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: «O König, so habe ich dir die Enthaltung vom Fleisch dargelegt—zusammen mit den Grundsätzen, die sowohl pravṛtti als auch nivṛtti (Zuwendung zur Welt und Rückzug) ordnen, eine von den ṛṣi, den Sehern, geschaffene Verhaltensregel. In dieser Lehre erscheint die Selbstzucht nicht als bloßes Verbot, sondern als dharmische Disziplin, gegründet auf uralte, von den Rishis gesetzte Ordnung.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma summarizes that the dharmic rationale for abstaining from meat has been explained, along with the broader framework of pravṛtti (engaged life) and nivṛtti (withdrawal/renunciation). The point is that ethical restraint is grounded in an authoritative, sage-formulated code rather than personal preference.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs the king (Yudhishthira) on dharma while lying on the bed of arrows. Here he concludes a segment on avoiding meat and situates it within the larger rishi-sanctioned system that distinguishes duties of active worldly life and duties of renunciatory withdrawal.