Shloka 28
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ब॒हस्पतिरुवाच अन्नमश्नन्ति यद् देवा: शरीरस्था नरेश्वर । पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापो ज्योतिर्मनस्तथा
bṛhaspatir uvāca | annam aśnanti yad devāḥ śarīrasthā nareśvara | pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo jyotir manas tathā |
Sinabi ni Bṛhaspati: “O hari, ang mga diyos na namamahala sa loob ng katawan ay tumatanggap ng pagkaing kinakain—yaong may kaugnayan sa lupa, tubig, pagkain, hangin, kalawakan, liwanag, at maging sa isip. Kapag sa pamamagitan ng pagkaing iyon ang mga sangkap sa loob (kasama ang isip) ay lubos na nasiyahan, saka nalilikha ang makapangyarihang esensiyang panglikha (retas—binhi/puwersang-buhay).”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food is not merely physical intake; it is an offering that sustains the presiding powers of the elements within the body. When nourishment is proper and balanced, the elements and mind become satisfied, producing vitality and generative potency—implying that ethical living includes disciplined, wholesome eating and restraint.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bṛhaspati instructs the king (addressed as nareśvara) on inner physiology and dharma: he explains how the body’s elemental deities ‘consume’ the food eaten, and how their satisfaction leads to the arising of retas (vital generative essence).