Shloka 16
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
मांसभक्षी मूर्ख मनुष्य स्वर्गमें पूर्णतः सुलभ होनेवाले भेरी, मृदंग और वीणाके दिव्य मधुर शब्दोंका सेवन कैसे कर सकेंगे; क्योंकि वे स्वर्गमें नहीं जा सकते ।।
pareṣāṁ dhana-dhānyānāṁ hiṁsakās tāvakās tathā | praśaṁsakāś ca māṁsasya nityaṁ svarge bahiṣkṛtāḥ || acintitam anirdiṣṭam asaṅkalpitam eva ca | rasa-gṛddhyābhibhūtā ye praśaṁsanti phalārthinaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Mereka yang merusak harta dan gandum milik orang lain, dan mereka yang senantiasa memuji kebiasaan makan daging, untuk selamanya tersingkir dari surga. Dikuasai kerakusan akan rasa, mereka menyanjung daging sambil mengharap ‘buah’ yang diinginkan; mereka jatuh ke dalam nasib yang mengerikan—tak pernah terbayangkan, tak pernah disebutkan, dan bahkan tak pernah terlintas dalam benak.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma links ethical restraint to spiritual destiny: harming others’ livelihood and glorifying meat-eating—driven by craving for taste—are presented as adharma that leads to exclusion from heaven and to an unimaginably bad downfall.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about conduct and consequences. Here he condemns destructive harm to others’ resources and the celebration of meat-eating, warning of severe post-mortem consequences.