Shloka 17
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
Devanagari script
लोभान्मोहादनुक्रोशाद् भयाद् वाप्यबहुश्रुतः:
Transliteration
lobhān mohād anukrośād bhayād vāpy abahuśrutaḥ
Translation
ユディシュティラは言った。「貪りによって、迷妄によって、場違いの憐れみによって、あるいは恐れによってさえ——シャーストラ（śāstra）に十分に教えられていない者は、誤った行いに走る。」
Word by Word
लोभात्from greed
लोभात्:
Apadana
TypeNoun
Rootलोभ
FormMasculine, Ablative, Singular
मोहात्from delusion
मोहात्:
Apadana
TypeNoun
Rootमोह
FormMasculine, Ablative, Singular
अनुक्रोशात्from compassion/pity
अनुक्रोशात्:
Apadana
TypeNoun
Rootअनुक्रोश
FormMasculine, Ablative, Singular
भयात्from fear
भयात्:
Apadana
TypeNoun
Rootभय
FormNeuter, Ablative, Singular
वाor
वा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootवा
अपिalso/even
अपि:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअपि
अबहुश्रुतःone who is not well-learned; uneducated
अबहुश्रुतः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootअ-बहुश्रुत
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
युधिछिर उवाच
Characters & Entities
Y
YudhiṣṭhiraCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Ethical failure often arises from inner impulses—greed, delusion, fear, and even compassion when it is not guided by dharma. Therefore, true moral action requires learning (śāstra), reflection, and discernment, not merely emotion.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira frames a moral inquiry by listing the common psychological causes that lead an insufficiently educated person to deviate from righteous conduct.