Shloka 68
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
असूयको नरश्नापि मृतो जायति शार्ज्गक: । विश्वासहर्ता तु नरो मीनो जायति दुर्मति:
asūyako naraś cāpi mṛto jāyati śārṅgakaḥ | viśvāsahartā tu naro mīno jāyati durmatiḥ ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «El hombre dado a buscar faltas y a la envidia, al morir, renace como ciervo. Pero el de entendimiento torcido que traiciona la confianza ajena renace como pez».
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that habitual fault-finding (asūyā) and betrayal of trust (viśvāsa-haraṇa) are serious ethical failures with karmic consequences, leading to degraded rebirths; it promotes restraint in judgment and fidelity to trust as elements of dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a moral rule linking specific vices—envy-driven criticism and breach of trust—to specific rebirth outcomes, as part of a broader discourse on the fruits of actions.