Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके २ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल २१ श्लोक हैं) अपन बक। ] अति्शशाएड पञ्चदशाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: मद्य और मांसके भक्षणमें महान् दोष
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ahiṃsā paramo dharma ity uktaṃ bahuśas tvayā | jāto naḥ saṃśayo dharme māṃsasya parivarjane | doṣo bhakṣayataḥ kaḥ syāt kaś cābhakṣayato guṇaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Ngài đã nhiều lần tuyên bố rằng bất bạo hại (ahiṃsā) là pháp tối thượng. Vì thế, trong lòng ta nảy sinh nghi hoặc về pháp của việc kiêng thịt. Xin hãy nói cho ta biết: kẻ ăn thịt mắc lỗi gì, và người không ăn thịt được công đức gì?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: if non-violence is the highest dharma, then abstaining from meat becomes morally significant. Yudhiṣṭhira asks for a clear accounting of the demerit in eating meat and the merit in refraining, setting up a dharma-based evaluation of diet and harm.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the elder teacher (implicitly Bhīṣma) after hearing repeated praise of ahiṃsā. He requests a reasoned explanation about meat consumption versus abstention, initiating a discourse on the faults of meat-eating and the benefits of renouncing it.