Shloka 11
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
पुत्रमांसोपमं जानन् खादते यो<विचक्षण: । मांसं मोहसमायुक्त: पुरुष: सो5धम: स्मृत:,जो मूर्ख यह जानते हुए भी कि पुत्रके मांसमें और दूसरे साधारण मांसोंमें कोई अन्तर नहीं है, मोहवश मांस खाता है, वह नराधम है
putramāṃsopamaṃ jānan khādate yo ’vicakṣaṇaḥ | māṃsaṃ mohasamāyuktaḥ puruṣaḥ so ’dhamaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Knowing that flesh is comparable to the flesh of one’s own son, the undiscerning man still eats it. A person who, deluded by infatuation and ignorance, consumes meat is therefore remembered as base and blameworthy.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns meat-eating as a product of moha (delusion) and lack of discernment, urging compassion by equating meat with the unimaginable act of eating one’s own child’s flesh.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues his ethical counsel, characterizing the meat-eater—despite knowing the moral implication—as ‘adhama’ (base), thereby reinforcing a norm of non-violence and purity of conduct.