Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 28
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ब॒हस्पतिरुवाच अन्नमश्नन्ति यद् देवा: शरीरस्था नरेश्वर । पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापो ज्योतिर्मनस्तथा
bṛhaspatir uvāca | annam aśnanti yad devāḥ śarīrasthā nareśvara | pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo jyotir manas tathā |
布里哈斯帕提说道：“大王啊，身内主宰诸分的诸神，享用人所食之食——即与地、水、食、风、空、光，以及心相应者。由此食物使体内诸元素（并心为伴）皆得圆满满足之时，强盛的生殖精华（retas，精液/生命之力）便产生。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food is not merely physical intake; it is an offering that sustains the presiding powers of the elements within the body. When nourishment is proper and balanced, the elements and mind become satisfied, producing vitality and generative potency—implying that ethical living includes disciplined, wholesome eating and restraint.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bṛhaspati instructs the king (addressed as nareśvara) on inner physiology and dharma: he explains how the body’s elemental deities ‘consume’ the food eaten, and how their satisfaction leads to the arising of retas (vital generative essence).