Shloka 123
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
मत्स्यमांसमथो हृत्वा काको जायति दुर्मति: । लवणं चोरयित्वा तु चिरिकाक: प्रजायते
matsyamāṁsam atho hṛtvā kāko jāyati durmatiḥ | lavaṇaṁ corayitvā tu cirikākaḥ prajāyate |
قال يودهيشثيرا: «مَن فسدَ فهمُه وسرقَ السمكَ واللحمَ يُبعثُ غرابًا. أمّا مَن سرقَ الملحَ فيُبعثُ cirikāka (نوعًا مخصوصًا من الطير).» وتؤكّد هذه الآية أنّ حتى ما يُظَنّ صغيرًا من السرقة له عواقبُ كرميّة، تُشكِّل الميلادَ الآتي على قدر طبيعة الجُرم.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches asteya (non-stealing) and the doctrine of karmic retribution: specific forms of theft lead to specific adverse rebirths, emphasizing that no act of dishonesty is morally trivial.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira cites a rule-like statement about karmic outcomes: stealing fish/meat results in rebirth as a crow, while stealing salt results in rebirth as a cirikāka bird.