Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, 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 |
जो खोटी बुद्धि वाला मनुष्य मछली और मांस की चोरी करता है, वह कौवा बनकर जन्म लेता है। और जो नमक चुराता है, वह चिरिकाक नामक पक्षी-योनि में उत्पन्न होता है।
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.