Shloka 123
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
मत्स्यमांसमथो हृत्वा काको जायति दुर्मति: । लवणं चोरयित्वा तु चिरिकाक: प्रजायते
matsyamāṁsam atho hṛtvā kāko jāyati durmatiḥ | lavaṇaṁ corayitvā tu cirikākaḥ prajāyate |
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Celui dont l’entendement est perverti, s’il vole poisson et viande, renaît corbeau. Mais celui qui vole le sel renaît cirikāka (une espèce particulière d’oiseau).» Ce vers souligne le principe moral selon lequel même des vols en apparence minimes entraînent des conséquences karmiques, façonnant la naissance future selon la nature de la faute.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches asteya (non-stealing) and the doctrine of karmic retribution: specific forms of theft lead to specific adverse rebirths, emphasizing that no act of dishonesty is morally trivial.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira cites a rule-like statement about karmic outcomes: stealing fish/meat results in rebirth as a crow, while stealing salt results in rebirth as a cirikāka bird.