Shloka 10
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ज्ञातिसम्बन्धिवर्गक्ष मित्रवर्गस्तथैव च । मृतं शरीरमुत्सज्य काष्ठलोष्टसमं जना:
jñātisambandhivargakṣa mitravargas tathaiva ca | mṛtaṃ śarīram utsajya kāṣṭhaloṣṭasamaṃ janāḥ ||
ಬಂಧು-ಸಂಬಂಧಿಗಳ ಗುಂಪೂ, ಮಿತ್ರವರ್ಗವೂ—ದೇಹವು ಸತ್ತಾಗ ಜನರು ಅದನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಗೆಯ ತುಂಡು ಅಥವಾ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ಗುಡ್ಡೆಯಂತೆ ಭಾವಿಸಿ ತ್ಯಜಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the limited value of the physical body after death: even close relatives and friends ultimately leave the corpse behind, treating it as inert matter. Ethically, it urges detachment from mere bodily identity and a clearer focus on dharma and the enduring consequences of one’s actions.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within a dharma-discourse context in the Anuśāsana Parva, reflecting on death and human conduct. He points out a stark social reality—after death, the body is abandoned—using it to support a moral argument about right understanding, restraint, and non-attachment.