Shloka 22
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
तस्माद् विद्धि महाराज मांसस्य परिवर्जनम् | धर्मस्यायतन श्रेष्ठ स्वर्गस्य च सुखस्य च,इसलिये महाराज! तुम्हें यह विदित होना चाहिये कि मांसका परित्याग ही धर्म, स्वर्ग और सुखका सर्वोत्तम आधार है
tasmād viddhi mahārāja māṁsasya parivarjanam | dharmasyāyatanaṁ śreṣṭhaṁ svargasya ca sukhasya ca ||
Bhishma berkata: “Oleh itu, wahai raja agung, ketahuilah dengan sungguh: menjauhi daging ialah asas yang paling utama bagi dharma—demikian juga bagi syurga dan kebahagiaan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that renouncing meat is a foremost support of dharma, and that such restraint is also conducive to attaining svarga (heaven) and sukha (happiness). The verse presents dietary non-violence as a practical ethical discipline with spiritual and moral consequences.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he emphasizes abstention from meat as a key component of righteous living, offering it as authoritative counsel to the king.