Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 115 Shloka 123 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

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Shloka 123

Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption

Devanagari script

मत्स्यमांसमथो हृत्वा काको जायति दुर्मति: । लवणं चोरयित्वा तु चिरिकाक: प्रजायते

Transliteration

matsyamāṁsam atho hṛtvā kāko jāyati durmatiḥ | lavaṇaṁ corayitvā tu cirikākaḥ prajāyate |

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Wer von verkehrtem Verstand ist und Fisch und Fleisch stiehlt, wird als Krähe wiedergeboren. Wer aber Salz stiehlt, wird als cirikāka (eine bestimmte Vogelart) wiedergeboren.“ Der Vers betont das moralische Prinzip, dass selbst scheinbar geringe Diebstähle karmische Folgen tragen und die künftige Geburt nach der Art des Vergehens gestalten.

Word by Word

मत्स्यfish

मांसम्meat

अथthen/and

हृत्वाhaving stolen/taken away

काकःa crow

जायतिis born/becomes

दुर्मतिःevil-minded person / one of bad intellect

लवणम्salt

चोरयित्वाhaving stolen (lit. having caused to steal)

तुbut/indeed

चिरिकाकःa cirikāka (a kind of bird; lit. 'cirikā-crow')

प्रजायतेis born/comes into existence

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

kāka (crow)

cirikāka (a bird)

matsya (fish)

māṁsa (meat)

lavaṇa (salt)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.