Shloka 24
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
ये भक्षयन्ति मांसानि भूतानां जीवितैषिणाम् । भक्ष्यन्ते तेडपि भूतैस्तैरिति मे नास्ति संशय:
ye bhakṣayanti māṁsāni bhūtānāṁ jīvitaiṣiṇām | bhakṣyante te 'pi bhūtais tair iti me nāsti saṁśayaḥ ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ജീവിക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന ജീവികളുടെ മാംസം ഭക്ഷിക്കുന്നവർ, മറ്റൊരു ജന്മത്തിൽ അതേ ജീവികളാൽ തന്നെ ഭക്ഷിക്കപ്പെടും— ഇതിൽ എനിക്ക് സംശയമില്ല.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches a karmic principle of moral reciprocity: harming life for food—specifically eating the flesh of beings that wish to live—creates a corresponding consequence, where the eater becomes the eaten in a future birth. The verse supports an ethic of restraint and non-violence (ahiṁsā).
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he delivers a firm admonition about the ethical and karmic repercussions of consuming meat, presenting it as a clear, doubtless rule within his moral teaching.