Shloka 4
मांसभक्षण-दोषाः तथा अहिंसाया माहात्म्यम् | Faults of Meat-Consumption and the Supremacy of Ahiṃsā
त्रीन् दोषान् सर्वभूतेषु निधाय पुरुष: सदा । कामक्रोधौ च संयम्य ततः सिद्धिमवाप्नुते
trīn doṣān sarvabhūteṣu nidhāya puruṣaḥ sadā | kāmakrodhau ca saṃyamya tataḥ siddhim avāpnute ||
Un homme, en reconnaissant sans cesse chez tous les êtres les trois défauts —illusion, orgueil et envie— et en réfrénant le désir et la colère, parvient ainsi à l’accomplissement spirituel (siddhi).
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that spiritual success comes from disciplined self-restraint—especially controlling desire (kāma) and anger (krodha)—and from reducing egoic attachment to one’s own faults by recognizing such defects as common to embodied beings, thereby weakening their hold and enabling steadiness in dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in a didactic mode, articulating a practical ethical method: identify and displace inner defects from self-identity, restrain the passions, and thus progress toward siddhi (attainment).