Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 16
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
मांसभक्षी मूर्ख मनुष्य स्वर्गमें पूर्णतः सुलभ होनेवाले भेरी, मृदंग और वीणाके दिव्य मधुर शब्दोंका सेवन कैसे कर सकेंगे; क्योंकि वे स्वर्गमें नहीं जा सकते ।।
pareṣāṁ dhana-dhānyānāṁ hiṁsakās tāvakās tathā | praśaṁsakāś ca māṁsasya nityaṁ svarge bahiṣkṛtāḥ || acintitam anirdiṣṭam asaṅkalpitam eva ca | rasa-gṛddhyābhibhūtā ye praśaṁsanti phalārthinaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Yaong mga sumisira sa yaman at butil ng iba, at yaong palagiang pumupuri sa pagkain ng karne, ay magpakailanmang itinatakwil mula sa langit. Daig ng pagnanasa sa lasa, pinupuri nila ang karne habang minimithi ang ‘gantimpala’ na ninanais; at bumabagsak sila sa kapalarang kasindak-sindak—hindi kailanman naisip, hindi kailanman naituro, ni hindi man lamang naipaglihi sa isip. Kaya hindi nila matitikman ang mga ligaya ng kalangitan—gaya ng banal at matamis na tunog ng mga tambol at mga kudyapi—sapagkat hindi sila nakararating sa langit.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma links ethical restraint to spiritual destiny: harming others’ livelihood and glorifying meat-eating—driven by craving for taste—are presented as adharma that leads to exclusion from heaven and to an unimaginably bad downfall.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about conduct and consequences. Here he condemns destructive harm to others’ resources and the celebration of meat-eating, warning of severe post-mortem consequences.