Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
भीष्म उवाच मांसस्याभक्षणाद् राजन् यो धर्म: कुरुनन्दन । तन्मे शूणु यथातत्त्वं यथास्य विधिरुत्तम:
bhīṣma uvāca māṁsasyābhakṣaṇād rājan yo dharmaḥ kurunandana | tan me śṛṇu yathātattvaṁ yathāsya vidhir uttamaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O Hari, O ligaya ng angkan ng Kuru, pakinggan mo mula sa akin, ayon sa ganap na katotohanan, ang dharma na binubuo ng pag-iwas sa karne, at ang dakilang tuntuning dapat sundin upang ito’y maisagawa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Bhishma introduces the dharma of abstaining from meat and promises to explain both its true rationale and the proper, authoritative method of observing it.
In the Anushasana Parva’s didactic setting, Bhishma addresses the king (Yudhishthira) and begins a formal instruction on the ethical and scriptural principles connected with refraining from meat.