Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 52
कालयुक्तधर्मविवेकः
Discerning Dharma in Accord with Time
पापेन कर्मणा देवि वध्यो हिंसारतिर्नर: । अप्रिय: सर्वभूतानां हीनायुरुपजायते
pāpena karmaṇā devi vadhyo hiṃsāratir naraḥ | apriyaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ hīnāyur upajāyate ||
देवि! पापकर्म के कारण हिंसा में रत मनुष्य वध्य हो जाता है; वह समस्त प्राणियों को अप्रिय होता है और अल्पायु होकर जन्म लेता है।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Delighting in violence is itself a grave ethical fault: it makes a person blameworthy and punishable, alienates them from all living beings, and results in diminished well-being—expressed here as a shortened lifespan—through the moral law of karma.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Maheshvara addresses Devī and states a general moral principle: sinful, violence-loving conduct brings social hatred and destructive consequences, contrasting with the implied ideal of dharmic, non-harmful behavior.