Shloka 17
Āṇīmāṇḍavya–Upākhyāna
The Account of Āṇīmāṇḍavya and the Birth of Vidura
देवर्षिपितृयज्ञार्थमार भ्यन्त तदा क्रिया: । न चाधर्मेण केषांचित् प्राणिनामभवद् वध:,उन दिनों देवयज्ञ, ऋषियज्ञ तथा पितृयज्ञके लिये कर्मोंका आरम्भ होता था। अधर्मका भय होनेके कारण किसी भी प्राणीका वध नहीं किया जाता था
devārṣi-pitṛ-yajñārtham ārabhyanta tadā kriyāḥ | na cādharmeṇa keṣāñcit prāṇinām abhavad vadhaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „In jenen Tagen wurden die Handlungen für Opfergaben an die Götter, die Seher und die Ahnen begonnen. Und kein lebendes Wesen wurde getötet, denn solches Töten wäre dem Dharma zuwider gewesen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links proper ritual life (yajñas for gods, seers, and ancestors) with adherence to dharma, emphasizing that harming living beings is rejected when it is adharma; ethical restraint accompanies religious practice.
Vaiśampāyana describes an earlier time characterized by the commencement of traditional sacrificial rites and a social-ethical climate in which no creature was killed, since such killing would be considered unrighteous.