Shloka 29
अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्
Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed
यावत: प्राणिनो हन्यात् तज्जातीयांस्तु तावतः । प्रमीयमानानुन्मोच्य प्राणिहा विप्रमुच्यते
yāvataḥ prāṇino hanyāt tajjātīyāṁs tu tāvataḥ | pramīyamānān unmocya prāṇihā vipramucyate ||
Śaunaka dit : « Le meurtrier des êtres vivants est délivré du péché du meurtre lorsque, pour autant de créatures qu’il en a tuées, il sauve de la mort imminente un nombre égal d’êtres de la même espèce—les arrachant au péril de périr. »
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a principle of expiation: the moral burden of taking life can be countered by actively saving life—specifically, by rescuing from death as many beings of the same kind as one has killed—thereby becoming freed from the sin of killing.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Śaunaka states a rule about prāyaścitta (atonement), explaining how a person guilty of killing living beings may obtain release from that guilt through life-saving acts proportionate to the harm done.