Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 12
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
स्वमांसं परमांसेन यो वर्धयितुमिच्छति । नारद: प्राह धर्मात्मा नियतं सोडवसीदति,धर्मात्मा नारदजी कहते हैं--जो दूसरेके मांससे अपना मांस बढ़ाना चाहता है, वह निश्चय ही दुःख उठाता है
svamāṁsaṁ paramāṁsena yo vardhayitum icchati | nāradaḥ prāha dharmātmā niyataṁ so ’vasīdati ||
Bhishma said: “The righteous sage Narada has declared: whoever seeks to nourish and enlarge his own flesh by means of another’s flesh will surely come to grief and suffer distress.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Gaining one’s own strength or benefit by consuming, exploiting, or harming others is adharma and inevitably leads to suffering and downfall.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he cites the authority of the sage Narada to warn that self-advancement built on another’s injury brings certain misery.