Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 13
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
ददाति यजते चापि तपस्वी च भवत्यपि । मधुमांसनिवृत्त्येति प्राह चैवं बृहस्पति:
dadāti yajate cāpi tapasvī ca bhavaty api | madhumāṃsa-nivṛttyeti prāha caivaṃ bṛhaspatiḥ ||
Bhishma said: “One who gives up intoxicating drink and meat is thereby regarded as one who gives gifts, performs sacrifices, and practices austerity. Thus did Brihaspati declare: abstention from liquor and flesh brings the merit of charity, sacrifice, and tapas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Abstaining from alcohol and meat is praised as a powerful ethical discipline that yields the same religious merit as charity (dāna), sacrifice (yajña), and austerity (tapas).
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he cites Brihaspati as an authoritative voice, presenting a concise rule: renunciation of intoxicants and meat is itself a form of high religious practice with great merit.