Shloka 24
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
न हि मांसं तृणात् काष्ठादुपलाद् वापि जायते । हत्वा जन्तुं ततो मांसं तस्माद् दोषस्तु भक्षणे
na hi māṁsaṁ tṛṇāt kāṣṭhād upalād vāpi jāyate | hatvā jantuṁ tato māṁsaṁ tasmād doṣas tu bhakṣaṇe ||
न हि मांसं तृणात्काष्ठादुपलाद्वापि जायते । हत्वा जन्तुं ततो मांसं तस्माद्दोषस्तु भक्षणे ॥ न हि मांसं तृणात् काष्ठादुपलाद्वापि जायते; जन्तुं हत्वैव मांसं लभ्यते, तस्मात् तद्भक्षणे महान् दोषः।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Meat is inseparable from violence because it is obtained only by killing a living being; therefore, consuming it carries ethical fault (doṣa) and stands opposed to the ideal of ahiṁsā.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhīṣma is teaching principles of righteous conduct; here he argues against meat-eating by pointing out its causal link to the killing of creatures.