Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 35
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
धन्यं यशस्यमायुष्यं स्वर्ग्य स्वस्त्ययनं महत् | मांसस्याभक्षणं प्राहुर्नियता: परमर्षय:
dhanyaṃ yaśasyam āyuṣyaṃ svargyaṃ svastyayanaṃ mahat | māṃsasyābhakṣaṇaṃ prāhur niyatāḥ paramarṣayaḥ ||
भीष्म बोले—नियमपरायण परमर्षियों ने कहा है कि मांस-भक्षण का त्याग ही धन, यश, दीर्घायु, स्वर्ग-प्राप्ति और महान कल्याण का शुभ साधन है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that refraining from eating meat is an ethical discipline praised by great sages as a powerful source of auspiciousness—supporting longevity, good reputation, and heavenly merit.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct; here he cites the authority of disciplined seers to commend abstention from meat as a major means of welfare.