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 ||
ビーシュマは説く。食より得られる滋養の精髄ラサ（rasa）は、身内に入ると脈路の網を巡り、ヴァータ（風）、ピッタ（胆・熱）、カパ（痰）という三つの体液をはじめ、血、皮、肉、腱、骨、髄を養い、かくして全身を支え強める。ここに示されるのは、節度ある養生こそが、人生とダルマにおける心身の安定の基であるということだ。
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.