Shloka 1196
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ततः पापक्षयं कृत्वा मानुषत्वमवाप्तुते । भोजनकी चोरी करके मनुष्य मक्खी होता है और कई महीनोंतक मक्खियोंके समुदायके अधीन रहता है। तत्पश्चात् पापोंका भोग समाप्त करके वह पुनः मनुष्य-योनिमें जन्म लेता है
tataḥ pāpakṣayaṁ kṛtvā mānuṣatvam avāpnute |
„Daraufhin erlangt er, nachdem der Rest seiner Sünde aufgebraucht ist, wieder den menschlichen Stand. Wer Speise stiehlt, wird zur Fliege und bleibt viele Monate der Schar der Fliegen unterworfen; sodann, wenn die Frucht der Sünden verzehrt ist, wird er erneut im Menschengeschlecht geboren.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions generate karmic results: wrongdoing leads to suffering and lower states, but once the demerit is fully exhausted (pāpakṣaya), the soul can regain human birth, where ethical responsibility and the possibility of reform return.
In a discussion on dharma and the fruits of sin, Yudhiṣṭhira’s line summarizes the conclusion of a karmic sequence: after undergoing the consequences of one’s misdeeds, the being’s sinful residue is spent and it is reborn as a human again.