Shloka 19
नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व
अजसश्नाश्वश्न मेषश्न गौश्व पक्षिगणाश्र ये । ग्राम्यारण्याश्नीषधय: प्राणस्यान्नमिति श्रुति:,बकरा, घोड़ा, भेड़, गाय, पक्षी, ग्राम्य अन्न तथा जंगली अन्न आदि सारी वस्तुएँ प्राणके लिये अन्न हैं--ऐसा श्रुतिका कथन है
ajasāśnāśvaśnā meṣaśnā gauś ca pakṣigaṇāś ca ye | grāmyāraṇyāś cāuṣadhayaḥ prāṇasyānnam iti śrutiḥ ||
Kapila dijo: «Los que comen cabras, los que comen caballos, los que comen ovejas, los que comen ganado, y los que comen diversas aves; asimismo los granos, el alimento de las aldeas y lo recogido en lo silvestre, e incluso las hierbas medicinales: la Śruti declara que todo ello es “alimento” para sostener la vida (prāṇa).»
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila frames ‘food’ broadly as whatever sustains prāṇa (life-breath). By invoking Śruti, he emphasizes that nourishment is defined by its life-supporting function, setting up an ethical discussion on sustenance, necessity, and the moral evaluation of what beings consume.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, Kapila is speaking and cites scriptural authority to classify many kinds of consumables—animal flesh, birds, domestic and wild produce, and herbs—as ‘food for life.’ This functions as a premise for further reflection on conduct, restraint, and the ethics of living.