Shloka 25
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
विषमुद्बन्धनं दाहो दस्युहस्तात् तथा वध: । देष्टिभ्यश्न पशुभ्यश्ष प्राकृतो वध उच्यते
viṣam udbandhanaṁ dāho dasyu-hastāt tathā vadhaḥ | dṛṣṭibhyasna-paśubhyas ca prākṛto vadha ucyate ||
ಪರಾಶರನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ವಿಷ ಸೇವನೆಯಿಂದ, ನೇಣಿನಿಂದ, ಅಗ್ನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಟ್ಟು, ದಸ್ಯುಗಳ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹತನಾಗಿ, ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ದಂಷ್ಟ್ರೆಯುಳ್ಳ ಮೃಗಗಳ ಆಘಾತದಿಂದ ಸಂಭವಿಸುವ ಮರಣವನ್ನು ‘ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ’—ಅಂದರೆ ನೀಚ ವರ್ಗದ ವಧ—ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies certain modes of dying—poison, hanging, burning, being killed by robbers, or by beasts—as ‘prākṛta’ (ordinary/base), implying an ethical valuation of ends: some deaths are regarded as ignoble compared to deaths aligned with dharma and self-mastery.
Parāśara is instructing about types of death (vadhāḥ) and their moral/qualitative status, listing specific violent or self-destructive ends and labeling them as a lower category.