Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1073
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
हत्वा रक्तानि वस्त्राणि जायते जीवजीवक: । अनेक प्रकारके रंगोंकी चोरी करके मृत्युको प्राप्त हुआ पुरुष मोर होता है। लाल कपड़े चुरानेवाला मनुष्य चकोरकी योनिमें जन्म लेता है
hatvā raktāni vastrāṇi jāyate jīvajīvakaḥ | aneka-prakārake raṅgānāṃ corī kṛtvā mṛtyuṃ prāptaḥ puruṣo moraḥ bhavati | lāla-vastra-coraḥ manuṣyaś cakorayoniṃ jāyate |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “He who destroys or steals red garments is reborn as a jīvajīvaka bird. A man who steals dyes of many kinds, after death, becomes a peacock. The thief of red cloth is born in the womb of a cakora bird.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that theft—specifically stealing valuable textiles or dyes—violates dharma and yields karmic retribution, expressed as degradation into animal/bird rebirths. It underscores moral accountability for property crimes and the idea that intentions and actions shape future states.
Within the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic discourse on conduct and its fruits, Yudhiṣṭhira cites specific examples of karmic outcomes: stealing/destroying red garments leads to rebirth as a jīvajīvaka bird; stealing many kinds of dyes leads to becoming a peacock; stealing red cloth leads to birth as a cakora.