Shloka 13
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
ददाति यजते चापि तपस्वी च भवत्यपि । मधुमांसनिवृत्त्येति प्राह चैवं बृहस्पति:
dadāti yajate cāpi tapasvī ca bhavaty api | madhumāṃsa-nivṛttyeti prāha caivaṃ bṛhaspatiḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ipinahayag ni Brihaspati: ang tumatalikod sa nakalalasing na inumin at sa karne ay itinuturing na parang nagbibigay ng kaloob, nagsasagawa ng paghahandog, at nagsasanay ng pag-aayuno at disiplina. Ang pag-iwas sa alak at laman ay nagdudulot ng kapakinabangan ng kawanggawa, sakripisyo, at tapas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Abstaining from alcohol and meat is praised as a powerful ethical discipline that yields the same religious merit as charity (dāna), sacrifice (yajña), and austerity (tapas).
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he cites Brihaspati as an authoritative voice, presenting a concise rule: renunciation of intoxicants and meat is itself a form of high religious practice with great merit.