Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 42

Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda

Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni

Devanagari script

खादकस्य कृते जन्तून्‌ यो हन्यात्‌ पुरुषाधम: । महादोषतरस्तत्र घातको न तु खादक:

Transliteration

khādakasya kṛte jantūn yo hanyāt puruṣādhamaḥ | mahādoṣataras tatra ghātako na tu khādakaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“为他人之口腹而杀害众生者，乃人中最下。于此事上，杀者所负之罪更为深重；食肉者并不承担同等分量的过失。”

Word by Word

• खादकस्य: of/for the eater (consumer)
• खादकस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: खादक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• कृते: for the sake of
• कृते: Sampradana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृत
• Form: postposition with genitive; meaning 'for the sake of'

• जन्तून्: creatures/animals
• जन्तून्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हन्यात्: should kill / were to kill
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पुरुषाधमः: the lowest of men
• पुरुषाधमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषाधम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महादोषतरः: more greatly sinful / having greater fault
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महादोषतर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Comparative (-तर)

• तत्र: there / in that matter
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र
• Form: adverb

• घातकः: the killer/slayer
• घातकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: घातक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: negation

• तु: but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु
• Form: contrastive particle

• खादकः: the eater (consumer)
• खादकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: खादक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse assigns heavier moral culpability to the direct agent of violence (the killer) than to the consumer, emphasizing that facilitating harm through killing for others’ appetite is especially blameworthy.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instructions, Bhīṣma continues advising on ethical conduct; here he comments on the moral hierarchy of fault in the context of animal slaughter and meat consumption.