Shloka 6
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
भीष्मजीने कहा--राजन्! कुरुनन्दन! मांस न खानेसे जो धर्म होता है, उसका मुझसे यथार्थ वर्णन सुनो तथा उस धर्मकी जो उत्तम विधि है, वह भी जान लो ।।
Bhīṣma uvāca—Rājan! Kurunandana! māṁsaṁ na khādanena yo dharmo bhavati, tasya me yathārthaṁ varṇanaṁ śṛṇu, tathā ca tasya dharmasya yā uttamā vidhir api tāṁ jānīhi. Rūpam avyāṅgatām āyur buddhiṁ sattvaṁ balaṁ smṛtim prāptukāmair naraḥ hiṁsā varjitā vai mahātmabhiḥ.
ພີສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: «ໂອ ພະຣາຊາ, ຜູ້ເປັນຄວາມປິຕິຂອງວົງກຸຣຸ! ຈົ່ງຟັງຈາກເຮົາເຖິງຄຳອະທິບາຍອັນແທ້ຈິງຂອງທັມມະທີ່ເກີດຈາກການງົດກິນເນື້ອ, ແລະຈົ່ງຮູ້ວິທີປະພຶດທັມມະນັ້ນຢ່າງດີທີ່ສຸດ. ຜູ້ໃດປາດຖະໜາຄວາມງາມ, ກາຍບໍ່ພິການ, ອາຍຸຍືນ, ປັນຍາ, ຄວາມໝັ້ນຄົງໃນໃຈ, ກຳລັງ, ແລະຄວາມຈື່ຈຳແຂງແຮງ ຄວນລະທິ້ງການເບຍບຽນ; ມະຫາອາດຕະມາທັງຫຼາຍຍ່ອມຫຼີກລ້ຽງການທຳຮ້າຍສັດມີຊີວິດ».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that abstaining from meat is grounded in ahiṁsā (non-violence), and that those seeking both bodily well-being (beauty, health, longevity) and mental excellence (intelligence, steadiness, memory) should avoid harming living beings; this restraint is upheld by the noble.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma addresses the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and begins an ethical exposition: he frames meat-abstinence as a dharma, promises to explain its proper practice, and links it to the broader principle of renouncing violence.