Shloka 51
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
कुक्कुटः पञ्च वर्षाणि पज्च वर्षाणि जम्बुक: । थ्वा वर्षमेक॑ं भवति ततो जायति मानव:
kukkutaḥ pañca varṣāṇi pañca varṣāṇi jambukaḥ | dvā varṣam ekaṁ bhavati tato jāyati mānavaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “A rooster lives for five years, and a jackal for five years; but a human being comes to be for only a brief span—scarcely a year—before passing on.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human life is precarious and can be shorter than that of animals; therefore one should act with dharmic urgency—cultivating virtue, restraint, and meaningful duties without procrastination.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects aloud on comparative lifespans (rooster, jackal, human) to emphasize the uncertainty of human longevity, setting a moral tone that supports instruction on right conduct and the wise use of time.