Shloka 17
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
लोभान्मोहादनुक्रोशाद् भयाद् वाप्यबहुश्रुतः:
lobhān mohād anukrośād bhayād vāpy abahuśrutaḥ
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Through greed, through delusion, through misplaced compassion, or even through fear—one who is not well-instructed in the śāstras acts wrongly.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical failure often arises from inner impulses—greed, delusion, fear, and even compassion when it is not guided by dharma. Therefore, true moral action requires learning (śāstra), reflection, and discernment, not merely emotion.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira frames a moral inquiry by listing the common psychological causes that lead an insufficiently educated person to deviate from righteous conduct.