Shloka 71
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
अमानुषीषु गोवर्ज्यमनावृष्टिन दुष्पति । अधिष्ठात्रवमन्तारं पशूनां पुरुषं विदु:
amānuṣīṣu go-varjyam anāvṛṣṭin na duṣpati | adhiṣṭhātāram antāraṁ paśūnāṁ puruṣaṁ viduḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「人ならぬ生きものについては、害が不慮に生じた場合—牛を除いて—咎ある罪とは見なされない。伝統は、人を獣の監督者にして守護者と認め、特別の責務を負わせるが、牛はとりわけ格別の護りを受けるものとして別に立てられている。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral culpability depends on intention and on one’s dharmic role: accidental harm to animals is treated as less blameworthy, yet cows are given special protected status, and humans are reminded that they are responsible guardians of animal life.
In Bhīṣma’s dharma-instruction discourse in the Śānti Parva, he clarifies a rule about unintended injury to animals, distinguishing general cases from the exceptional sanctity/protection accorded to cows and grounding the rule in the human duty of oversight and care.