Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 56
कालयुक्तधर्मविवेकः
Discerning Dharma in Accord with Time
यस्तु शुक्लाभिजातीय: प्राणिघातविवर्जक: । निक्षिप्तशस्त्रो निर्दण्डो न हिंसति कदाचन
yastu śuklābhijātīyaḥ prāṇighātavivarjakaḥ | nikṣiptaśastro nirdaṇḍo na hiṃsati kadācana ||
Mahādeva said: “But the man of pure birth who abstains from the killing of living beings—who has laid aside weapons and renounced punishment—never commits violence at any time.” In its ethical setting, the verse extols the ideal of ahiṃsā: one who neither harms, nor commands harm, nor approves of harm, and who keeps affectionate goodwill toward all creatures, is praised as attaining divine status and enjoying the self-arising delights of the heavenly world.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds ahiṃsā as a supreme ethical discipline: the best person is one who renounces weapons and coercive punishment and never harms living beings. In the broader context, this includes not only refraining from direct killing but also not instigating or approving violence, cultivating universal friendliness and compassion, and thereby attaining exalted spiritual merit.
Śrī Mahēśvara is instructing Devī, contrasting types of conduct and their results. Here he describes the non-violent, self-restrained person—one who has set aside weapons and punitive force—and indicates that such a person is praised and, in the surrounding passage, is said to attain divine/heavenly reward.