Shloka 16
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
वातपित्तकफाद् रक्त त्वड्मांसं स्नायुमस्थि च । मज्जां देहं शिराजालैस्तर्पयन्ति रसा नृणाम्
vāta-pitta-kaphād raktaṁ tvag-māṁsaṁ snāyum asthi ca | majjāṁ dehaṁ śirā-jālaiḥ tarpayanti rasā nṛṇām ||
Bhishma explica que la esencia nutritiva (rasa) obtenida del alimento, una vez que entra en el cuerpo, circula por la red de conductos y nutre los humores vitales—vata (viento), pitta (bilis) y kapha (flema)—así como la sangre, la piel, la carne, los tendones, los huesos y la médula; y de ese modo sostiene y fortalece el cuerpo entero. La enseñanza subraya que una nutrición disciplinada es base de firmeza en la vida y en el dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food, when properly digested, becomes rasa—the nourishing essence—which circulates through bodily channels and sustains all tissues and humors. Ethical living (dharma) is supported by bodily steadiness, so disciplined nourishment is presented as a practical foundation for self-control and right conduct.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he describes how nourishment works within the body: the essence of food spreads through a network of vessels and strengthens the humors and bodily constituents, thereby sustaining the whole person.