Shloka 111
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
यस्तु चोरयते तैलं नरो मोहसमन्वित: । सो<पि राजन् मृतो जन्तुस्तैलपायी प्रजायते
yastu corayate tailaṃ naro mohasamanvitaḥ | so 'pi rājan mṛto jantus tailapāyī prajāyate ||
യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു— രാജാവേ! മോഹത്തിൽ ആകപ്പെട്ട് എണ്ണ മോഷ്ടിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യൻ മരണാനന്തരം ‘തൈലപായീ’ എന്ന എണ്ണ കുടിക്കുന്ന പുഴുവായി ജന്മം എടുക്കുന്നു.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that theft—even of common household items like oil—arising from moha (delusion) leads to serious karmic results, expressed here as a degrading rebirth. It reinforces the dharmic principle of non-stealing and accountability for seemingly minor wrongdoing.
Within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma (especially gifts and conduct), Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the king and cites a specific example: a person who steals oil is said to be reborn as an ‘oil-drinking’ worm, illustrating the moral causality of actions.