Shloka 71
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
धान्यान् यवांस्तिलान् माषान् कुलत्थान् सर्षपांश्वणान् । कलापानथ मुद्गांश्व गोधूमानतसींस्तथा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
dhānyān yavāṁs tilān māṣān kulatthān sarṣapāñ chvaṇān |
kalāpān atha mudgāṁś ca godhūmān atasīṁs tathā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Celui qui, sans honte—vaincu par l’ignorance et l’illusion—vole des grains tels que le riz, l’orge, le sésame, l’urad (gramme noir), le horse-gram, la moutarde, les pois chiches, ainsi que les pois, le mungo vert, le blé et le lin : après sa mort, cet homme devient d’abord une souris.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Stealing basic sustenance (grains and pulses) is a serious adharma; when driven by ignorance and delusion and done without moral restraint, it leads to degrading karmic consequences, here expressed as rebirth in a low form (a mouse).
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about specific acts of wrongdoing and their results; this verse lists common food-grains and states the post-mortem consequence for stealing them.