Shloka 115
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
मासे चतुर्थे सम्प्राप्ते श्वापद: सम्प्रजायते । श्वापदो दश वर्षाणि द्वीपी वर्षाणि पजच च
māse caturthe samprāpte śvāpadḥ samprajāyate | śvāpado daśa varṣāṇi dvīpī varṣāṇi pañca ca |
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Quand vient le quatrième mois, on renaît en bête sauvage prédatrice (śvāpad), telle le loup. On demeure dix ans dans cet état, puis, durant cinq ans, on devient un dvīpin—tel le tigre ou le léopard.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions have consequences that can extend across births; unethical conduct may lead to rebirth in violent, suffering-laden animal forms for long durations, underscoring the need for dharmic self-restraint.
Yudhiṣṭhira is describing a sequence of rebirth outcomes measured by time: after a specified period (“the fourth month”), a being is said to be born as a predatory animal, remaining first as a śvāpada for ten years and then as a dvīpin for five years.