Shloka 123
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
मत्स्यमांसमथो हृत्वा काको जायति दुर्मति: । लवणं चोरयित्वा तु चिरिकाक: प्रजायते
matsyamāṁsam atho hṛtvā kāko jāyati durmatiḥ | lavaṇaṁ corayitvā tu cirikākaḥ prajāyate |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “A person of perverse understanding who steals fish and meat is reborn as a crow. But one who steals salt is reborn as a cirikāka (a particular bird-species).” The verse underscores the moral principle that even seemingly small acts of theft carry karmic consequences, shaping one’s future birth according to the nature of the wrongdoing.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.