Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 30
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
अभक्ष्यमेतदिति वै इति हिंसा निवर्तते । खादकार्थमतो हिंसा मृगादीनां प्रवर्तते
abhakṣyam etad iti vai iti hiṁsā nivartate | khādakārtham ato hiṁsā mṛgādīnāṁ pravartate ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಜನರು ದೃಢವಾಗಿ ‘ಇದು ಭಕ್ಷ್ಯವಲ್ಲ’ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದಾಗ ಹಿಂಸೆ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತದೆ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಜಿಂಕೆ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳ ಹಿಂಸೆ ಮಾಂಸ ತಿನ್ನುವವರಿಗಾಗಿ ಮಾತ್ರವೇ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma links demand to harm: if meat is regarded as ‘abhakṣya’ (not fit to eat) and people stop consuming it, the motive for killing animals disappears, and violence naturally declines.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instructions, Bhīṣma is advising on ethical conduct; here he argues that animal killing occurs primarily to satisfy meat-eaters, so renunciation of meat functions as a practical means to reduce hiṁsā.