Shloka 71
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
इमं धर्मममांसादं यश्चरेच्छावयीत वा । अपि चेत् सुदुराचारो न जातु निरयं व्रजेत्
imaṃ dharmam amāṃsādaṃ yaś carec chāvayīta vā | api cet sudurācāro na jātu nirayaṃ vrajet ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Quiconque pratique ce dharma d’abstinence de viande, ou même fait en sorte qu’il soit enseigné et entendu par autrui, ne tombe jamais en enfer, fût-il d’une conduite très perverse. Une telle maîtrise de soi, et le fait de la répandre, est tenue ici pour une puissante purification morale.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Abstaining from meat (amāṃsāda) is presented as a highly meritorious ethical discipline; practicing it—or promoting it so others hear and adopt it—has such purifying force that it is said to prevent a fall into hell even for someone otherwise very immoral.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he emphasizes a specific moral observance—renouncing meat—and underscores both personal practice and the merit of teaching it to others.