Shloka 69
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
भूत्वा मीनोडष्ट वर्षाणि मृतो जायति भारत । मृगस्तु चतुरो मासांस्ततश्छाग: प्रजायते,भारत! आठ वर्षोतक मछली रहकर मरनेके बाद वह चार मासतक मृग होता है। उसके बाद बकरेकी योनिमें जन्म लेता है
bhūtvā mīno ’ṣṭa-varṣāṇi mṛto jāyati bhārata | mṛgas tu caturo māsāṁs tataś chāgaḥ prajāyate bhārata ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Ô Bhārata, après avoir vécu huit ans en poisson, il meurt et renaît. Ensuite il devient cerf durant quatre mois ; puis, ô Bhārata, il naît dans le ventre d’une chèvre.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores saṃsāra—beings move through successive births in different species according to karmic causality, highlighting the ethical weight of actions and their consequences across lifetimes.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes a specific sequence of transmigration: a being lives as a fish for eight years, dies and is reborn, becomes a deer for four months, and then takes birth as a goat—illustrating the mechanics of rebirth discussed in the Anuśāsana Parva.