Shloka 19
नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व
अजसश्नाश्वश्न मेषश्न गौश्व पक्षिगणाश्र ये । ग्राम्यारण्याश्नीषधय: प्राणस्यान्नमिति श्रुति:
ajasāśnāśvaśnā meṣaśnā gauś ca pakṣigaṇāś ca ye | grāmyāraṇyāś cāuṣadhayaḥ prāṇasyānnam iti śrutiḥ ||
迦毗罗说：“食山羊者、食马者、食绵羊者、食牛者，以及食诸鸟者；又如村落之谷食、野外采集之食，乃至药草——《闻传》宣称：凡能维系生命之气（prāṇa）者，皆名为‘食’。”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila frames ‘food’ broadly as whatever sustains prāṇa (life-breath). By invoking Śruti, he emphasizes that nourishment is defined by its life-supporting function, setting up an ethical discussion on sustenance, necessity, and the moral evaluation of what beings consume.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, Kapila is speaking and cites scriptural authority to classify many kinds of consumables—animal flesh, birds, domestic and wild produce, and herbs—as ‘food for life.’ This functions as a premise for further reflection on conduct, restraint, and the ethics of living.