Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 54
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
कौमुदे तु विशेषेण शुक्लपक्षे नराधिप । वर्जयेन्मधुमांसानि धर्मों ह्वात्र विधीयते,नरेश्वर! विशेषतः शरदऋतु, शुक्लपक्षमें मद्य और मांसका सर्वथा त्याग कर दे; क्योंकि ऐसा करनेमें धर्म होता है
kaumude tu viśeṣeṇa śuklapakṣe narādhipa | varjayen madhumāṁsāni dharmo hy atra vidhīyate || nareśvara viśeṣataḥ śaradṛtau śuklapakṣe madyaṁ māṁsaṁ ca sarvathā tyajet; evaṁ kartari dharmo bhavati ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi đại vương, đặc biệt trong nửa tháng sáng của mùa thu, hãy tuyệt đối kiêng rượu và thịt. Trong sự giữ gìn ấy, chính nghĩa (dharma) được truyền dạy.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches seasonal and lunar-discipline as a form of dharma: during the autumn season—particularly in the bright fortnight—one should practice restraint by abstaining from intoxicants and meat, because such self-control is explicitly enjoined as righteous conduct.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on dharma. Here he gives a specific practical rule of conduct tied to time (śarad season and śukla pakṣa), recommending complete avoidance of liquor and meat as a meritorious observance.