Shloka 9
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
सप्तर्षयो वालखिल्यास्तथैव च मरीचिपा: । अमांसभक्षणं राजन् प्रशंसन्ति मनीषिण:,राजन! सप्तर्षि, वालखिल्य तथा सूर्यकी किरणोंका पान करनेवाले अन्यान्य मनीषी महर्षि मांस न खानेकी ही प्रशंसा करते हैं
saptarṣayo vālakhilyās tathaiva ca marīcipāḥ | amāṁsabhakṣaṇaṁ rājan praśaṁsanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O King, the Seven Ṛṣis, the Vālakhilya sages, and other wise seers—those who live on the Sun’s rays—commend the discipline of not eating meat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds abstention from meat as an ethically praised discipline, validated by revered ascetic authorities (sages), implying that restraint in diet supports dharma, self-control, and non-violence.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he cites eminent sages—Saptarṣis, Vālakhilyas, and marīcipāḥ—to support the claim that wise seers commend not eating meat.