Shloka 59
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
गर्दभवत्वं तु सम्प्राप्प दश वर्षाणि जीवति । संवत्सरं तु कुम्भीरस्ततो जायेत मानव:,गदहेका शरीर पाकर वह दस वर्षोंतक जीवित रहता है। फिर एक सालतक घड़ियाल रहनेके बाद मानवयोनिमें उत्पन्न होता है
gardhabhatvaṁ tu samprāpya daśa varṣāṇi jīvati | saṁvatsaraṁ tu kumbhīras tato jāyeta mānavaḥ ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Habiendo alcanzado el estado de asno, se vive diez años. Luego, tras vivir un año como kumbhīra (un cocodriliano), se nace de nuevo en condición humana». La sentencia subraya la lógica moral del karma: la mala conducta conduce a renacimientos degradantes, y sin embargo el ciclo permite el retorno a la vida humana, donde puede buscarse de nuevo el dharma.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys karmic moral causality: unethical actions can result in degrading, painful rebirths, yet the cycle is not permanent—after experiencing the consequences, one may return to human birth, where dharma and right conduct can be chosen again.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within a discussion on dharma and the fruits of actions. He cites a sequence of rebirths—donkey for ten years, then kumbhīra for one year, then human birth—to illustrate how specific karmic outcomes unfold over time.