Shloka 4
मांसपरिवर्जन-प्रशंसा (Praise of Abstention from Meat) / Ethics of Ahiṃsā in Diet and Rite
मोहादधर्म यः कृत्वा पुन: समनुतप्यते । मन:समाधिसंयुक्तो न स सेवेत दुष्कृतम्
mohād adharmaṁ yaḥ kṛtvā punaḥ samanuta pyate | manaḥ-samādhi-saṁyukto na sa seveta duṣkṛtam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “If a person, through delusion, commits an unrighteous act and then later feels genuine remorse, and becomes joined to steadiness and recollection of mind, he should not continue to indulge in wrongdoing.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A lapse into adharma caused by delusion is not the end: sincere remorse followed by mental steadiness should lead to a decisive break from repeating or continuing the wrongdoing.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s ethical instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira frames a moral principle: when one recognizes a wrong act, repents, and regains inner composure, one should not persist in the same harmful conduct.