Shloka 23

Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption

Devanagari script

त्वगस्थिमांसं शुक्रे च शोणितं च महामते

Transliteration

tvag-asthi-māṁsaṁ śukre ca śoṇitaṁ ca mahāmate

Translation

യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മഹാമതേ! ത്വക്ക്, അസ്ഥി, മാംസം; കൂടാതെ ശുക്രവും രക്തവും—ഇവയെ പരിഗണിക്ക.

Word by Word

• त्वक्: skin
• त्वक्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वच्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अस्थि: bone
• अस्थि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• मांसम्: flesh
• मांसम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• शुक्रे: in semen; in the seminal fluid
• शुक्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• शोणितम्: blood
• शोणितम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• महामते: O great-minded one; O wise one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to the body’s material constituents—skin, bone, flesh, semen, and blood—to encourage sober reflection and detachment, undermining pride, lust, and ego by emphasizing the body’s perishable, impure composition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a wise interlocutor and begins (or continues) an argument grounded in ethical instruction: by enumerating bodily substances, he frames a moral-spiritual reflection meant to guide conduct through dispassion and clearer discernment.