Shloka 583
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
उक्त: पशुसमो दोषो राजन् प्राणिनिपातनात् । कुत्ते
bhīṣma uvāca | uktaḥ paśusamo doṣo rājan prāṇinipātanāt | kutte sūkara-gardabhān hatvā manuṣyaḥ śūdravadha-sambandhi-vratasyaiva ācaraṇaṃ kuryāt | rājan! mārjāra-nīlakaṇṭha-maṇḍūka-kāka-sarpa-mūṣakādi-prāṇināṃ vadhenāpi ukta-paśuvadha-samo doṣaḥ proktaḥ |
ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、生きものの命を断つことによって負う過失は、獣を殺す罪に等しいと宣言されている。もし人が犬・豚・驢馬を殺したなら、首陀羅（Śūdra）殺しに定められた贖罪の行（誓戒）を行うべき者と見なされる。王よ、猫・孔雀・蛙・烏・蛇・鼠などの生きものを殺した場合でさえ、先に説いたその獣殺しと同等の罪を負うと言われる。この教えは、無益な害を慎み、生命に向けられる暴力の倫理的な重さを示すのである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that taking life (prāṇinipātana) carries serious moral fault, and that killing even commonly disregarded animals is treated as a grave ethical transgression, requiring expiatory discipline; it reinforces restraint and non-violence as part of dharma.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on dharma after the war. Here he explains the demerit attached to killing various creatures and links such acts to prescribed expiations, framing the king’s governance and personal conduct around ethical accountability.