Markandeyapurana 3.38

3.38

tṛṣṇākṣayañca raktena tathā śīghnaṃ vidhīyatām /
tato vayaṃ pravyathitāḥ prakampodbhūtasādhvasāḥ /
kaṣṭaṃ kaṣṭamiti procya naitat kurmeti cābruvan //

“The Ṛṣi spoke:
“‘Of me has this bird sought protection oppressed with hunger and thirst; wherefore let him be straightway satisfied with your flesh, and let his thirst be quickly assuaged with your blood.

“Then we, afflicted, our terror visible in our trembling, exclaimed, ‘Alas, alas!’ and said, ‘not this deed! How for the sake of another’s body can a wise man destroy or injure his own body? for a son is even as one’s own self. A son pays those debts, indeed, that have been declared due to the pitṛs, the gods, and men; a son does not offer up his body. Therefore we will not do this; we have done as has been done by men of old. While alive one receives good things, and while alive one does holy acts. When one is dead, the body perishes, and there is an end of righteousness, &c. Men skilled in holy law have declared that one ought by all means to preserve one’s self.’