Shloka 233
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
शरीर वर्जयन्त्येते जीवितेन विवर्जितम् | महामते! त्वचा
śarīraṁ varjayanty ete jīvitena vivarjitam | mahāmate! tvacāsthi-māṁsa-śukra-śoṇitāni—etāḥ sarvā dhātavaḥ niṣprāṇa-śarīraṁ parityajanti; arthāt te śarīra-dhāriṇaṁ jīvātmānaṁ saha jahati; ekaḥ dharma eva tasya saha gacchati |
قال يودهيشثيرا: «إذا فارقت الحياة، هجرت هذه المكوّنات الجسد.» يا عظيم الرأي! الجلد، والعظم، واللحم، والمنيّ، والدم—كل هذه العناصر الجسدية تترك الهيكل الذي خلا من الروح؛ أي إنها تخلّف وراءها الذات المتجسدة. ولا يرافق الإنسانَ إلا الدهرما وحدها.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
All physical constituents fall away at death; only one’s dharma—one’s moral conduct and righteous merit—accompanies the person beyond the body. The verse urges ethical living grounded in lasting values rather than attachment to the perishable body.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a reflective point about death: the body’s tissues and fluids do not remain with the self, emphasizing that the enduring companion is dharma alone.