Shloka 32
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ब॒हस्पतिर्वाच आसमज़मात्र: पुरुषस्तैर्भूतैरभि भूयते । विप्रयुक्तश्न तैर्भूते: पुनर्यात्यपरां गतिम्
Bṛhaspatir uvāca: āsamañjamātraḥ puruṣas tair bhūtair abhibhūyate | viprayuktaś ca tair bhūtaiḥ punar yāty aparāṃ gatim ||
Bṛhaspati bersabda: “Wahai Raja, seseorang yang penilaiannya hanya sedikit saja goyah akan dikuasai oleh unsur-unsur (bhūta) itu. Namun bila ia terlepas dari bhūta-bhūta tersebut, ia kembali mencapai jalan keberadaan yang lebih luhur.”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a slight confusion in discernment allows lower elemental impulses (bhūtas) to overpower a person; freedom from those forces restores one’s ascent toward a higher state. The ethical emphasis is vigilance, restraint, and disentanglement from degrading tendencies.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-setting, Bṛhaspati speaks as a teacher, explaining to the inquirer (contextually within Yudhiṣṭhira’s broader questioning) how embodied beings can be dominated by elemental forces and how separation from them leads to a better destiny.