Shloka 11
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
पुत्रमांसोपमं जानन् खादते यो<विचक्षण: । मांसं मोहसमायुक्त: पुरुष: सो5धम: स्मृत:
putramāṃsopamaṃ jānan khādate yo ’vicakṣaṇaḥ | māṃsaṃ mohasamāyuktaḥ puruṣaḥ so ’dhamaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: “Sabiendo que la carne es comparable a la carne del propio hijo, el hombre sin discernimiento aun así la come. Quien, cegado por el engaño y la ignorancia, consume carne, es recordado como vil y digno de reproche.”
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.