Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 14
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
मासि मास्यश्वमेधेन यो यजेत शतं समा: । न खादति च यो मांसं सममेतन्मतं मम,जो सौ वर्षोतक प्रतिमास अश्वमेध यज्ञ करता है और जो कभी मांस नहीं खाता है-- इन दोनोंका समान फल माना गया है
māsi māsy aśvamedhena yo yajeta śataṁ samāḥ | na khādati ca yo māṁsaṁ samam etan mataṁ mama ||
毗湿摩曰：“依我之见，此二者功德等同：其一，月复一月行阿湿婆梅陀（Aśvamedha，马祭）而历百年者；其二，终身不食肉者。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma equates the spiritual merit of extreme ritual grandeur (repeated Aśvamedhas over a century) with the ethical discipline of lifelong abstention from meat, highlighting that restraint and non-violence can match the highest sacrificial merit.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instructions, Bhishma is advising on righteous conduct and the fruits of actions; here he compares two paths—royal Vedic sacrifice and personal dietary renunciation—and declares their results equal.