Shloka 7
Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra
श्येन उवाच आहारात् सर्वभूतानि सम्भवन्ति महीपते | आहारेण विवर्धन्ते तेन जीवन्ति जन्तव:,बाजने कहा--महाराज! सब प्राणी आहारसे ही उत्पन्न होते हैं, आहारसे ही उनकी वृद्धि होती है और आहारसे ही जीवित रहते हैं
śyena uvāca—āhārāt sarvabhūtāni sambhavanti mahīpate | āhāreṇa vivardhante tena jīvanti jantavaḥ ||
The hawk said: “O king, all living beings arise from food; by food they grow, and by that very food creatures sustain their life.”
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food (āhāra) is presented as the fundamental basis of embodied life: beings originate, grow, and survive through nourishment. The verse frames survival as grounded in the economy of food, a premise often used in Mahābhārata discussions of duty, restraint, and the realities of living in the world.
In Vana Parva 132, the hawk (śyena) addresses a king, stating a principle about life’s dependence on food. The line functions as a justificatory or explanatory statement within a dialogue that weighs ethical ideals against the necessities of sustaining life.