Shloka 25
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
स्वाहास्वधामृतभुजो देवा: सत्यार्जवप्रिया: । क्रव्यादान् राक्षसान् विद्धि जिह्मानृतपरायणान्
svāhāsvadhāmṛtabhujo devāḥ satyārjavapriyāḥ | kravyādān rākṣasān viddhi jihmānṛtaparāyaṇān ||
स्वाहास्वधामृतभुजो देवाḥ सत्यार्जवप्रियाः । क्रव्यादान् राक्षसान् विद्धि जिह्मानृतपरायणान् ॥ ये स्वाहास्वधाकर्माणि कुर्वन्ति, यज्ञशिष्टामृतं भुञ्जते, सत्यार्जवप्रियाश्च—ते देवाः इव ज्ञेयाः। ये तु क्रव्यादाः, जिह्मानृतपरायणाः—तान् राक्षसान् विद्धि।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma defines ‘deva’ and ‘rākṣasa’ primarily as ethical types: devotion to truth, simplicity, and sacrificial discipline aligns one with the deva-nature, while deceit, falsehood, and habitual flesh-eating align one with rākṣasa-nature.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues his didactic discourse, offering a moral classification of beings by conduct—contrasting those who uphold yajña and truthful straightforwardness with those devoted to deception and violent appetite.