Shloka 78
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
सूकर: पज्च वर्षाणि दश वर्षाणि श्वाविध: । बिडाल: पज्च वर्षाणि दश वर्षाणि कुक्कुट:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | sūkaraḥ pañca varṣāṇi daśa varṣāṇi śvāvidhaḥ | biḍālaḥ pañca varṣāṇi daśa varṣāṇi kukkuṭaḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „(Ein Wesen) bleibt fünf Jahre ein Eber, zehn Jahre ein śvāvidha, fünf Jahre eine Katze und zehn Jahre ein Hahn.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse supports the Anuśāsana Parva’s ethical instruction by illustrating saṃsāra: actions can propel a being through successive non-human births for fixed spans, underscoring the gravity of adharma and the need for righteous conduct to avoid degrading rebirths.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within a didactic exchange on dharma and karmic results, listing a sequence of animal embodiments and their durations as part of a broader description of how a soul may wander through various wombs due to past deeds.