Shloka 21
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
कि पुनर्हन्यमानानां तरसा जीवितार्थिनाम् | अरोगाणामपापानां पापैर्मासोपजीविभि:
ki punar hanyamānānāṁ tarasā jīvitārthinām | arogāṇām apāpānāṁ pāpair māṁsopajīvibhiḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Maka, betapa lebih besar lagi ketakutan yang timbul bagi makhluk yang dibunuh dengan paksaan—yang ingin terus hidup, yang sihat dan tidak bersalah—apabila mereka ditundukkan lalu dibunuh oleh manusia berdosa yang mencari nafkah daripada daging? Oleh itu, orang bijaksana dan berbudi hendaklah memandang semua makhluk sama seperti dirinya sendiri dan bertindak demi kebajikan mereka.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma underscores empathy and non-violence: a wise person should see all beings as oneself and recognize that forcibly killing innocent, healthy creatures—especially by those who profit from flesh—is a grave ethical wrong that naturally generates fear and suffering.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he argues from the reality of death-fear: if even learned people fear death, then innocent beings who are violently killed by meat-dependent sinners will fear all the more—supporting a broader exhortation toward compassion and restraint from harm.