Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
एतत् त्रयमवाप्तव्यमधर्मपरिवर्जितम् | धर्म, अर्थ और काम--ये तीन जीवनके फल हैं, अतः मनुष्यको अधर्मके त्यागपूर्वक इन तीनोंको उपलब्ध करना चाहिये
etat trayam avāptavyam adharmaparivarjitam | dharma-artha-kāmāḥ trayo jīvanaphalāni, ataḥ manuṣyeṇa adharmasya tyāgapūrvakaṃ etāni trīṇi avāptavyāni ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Diese drei sind zu erlangen, doch ohne Zuflucht zur Unrechtmäßigkeit. Dharma, artha und kāma sind die drei Früchte des Menschenlebens; darum soll der Mensch alle drei nur gewinnen, nachdem er adharma verworfen hat.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Human goals—dharma (righteousness), artha (material welfare), and kāma (legitimate enjoyment)—may be pursued, but only by excluding adharma; ethical means are non-negotiable even when seeking prosperity or pleasure.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a normative principle about the proper pursuit of life’s aims, emphasizing that the three goals must be sought with the prior abandonment of unrighteous conduct.