Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 12

श्रीशक्रसंवादः — The Dialogue of Śrī

Lakṣmī) and Śakra (Indra

Devanagari script

न भक्षयेत्‌ तथा मांसममांसाशी भवत्यपि | दाननित्य: पवित्रश्न अस्वप्रश्न दिवाउस्वपन्‌

Transliteration

na bhakṣayet tathā māṁsam amāṁsāśī bhavaty api | dānanityaḥ pavitraśnī asvapraśnī divā na svapan tathā ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「肉を食してはならぬ。それだけでも人は不食肉の者となる。日々施しをなす者は清浄と見なされる。昼に眠らぬ者は、常に目覚めている者と理解される。」

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• भक्षयेत्: should eat
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष्
• Form: Vidhi-ling, optative, 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• तथा: thus / in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• मांसम्: meat
• मांसम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• अमांसाशी: one who does not eat meat
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-मांस-आशिन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• भवति: becomes / is
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Lat, present indicative, 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• अपि: also / even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• दाननित्यः: always engaged in giving (charity-constant)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दान-नित्य
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• पवित्रश्नः: one who eats what is pure
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पवित्र-अश्न
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• अस्वप्रश्नः: one who does not sleep (lit. does not 'eat' sleep)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-स्वप्न-अश्न
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• दिवा: by day / in daytime
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• स्वपन्: sleeping
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्वप्
• Form: Shatr (present active participle), masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that dharmic character is shown through consistent disciplines: abstaining from meat (restraint and non-harm), giving charity daily (cultivating purity through generosity), and avoiding daytime sleep (alertness and regulated living).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he offers concise behavioral markers by which a person’s ethical life—restraint, generosity, and disciplined wakefulness—can be recognized.