Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
तत्र जीवति वर्षाणि त्रयोदश युधिष्ठिर । अधर्मसंक्षये युक्तस्ततो जायति मानव:,युधिष्ठिर! उस योनिमें वह तेरह वर्षोतक जीवन धारण करता है। तदनन्तर पापक्षयके पश्चात् वह पुनः मनुष्ययोनिमें उत्पन्न होता है
tatra jīvati varṣāṇi trayodaśa yudhiṣṭhira | adharmasaṃkṣaye yuktas tato jāyati mānavaḥ ||
യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ആ യോനിയിൽ അവൻ പതിമൂന്ന് വർഷം ജീവിക്കുന്നു. തുടർന്ന് അധർമ്മഫലം ക്ഷയിച്ചാൽ അവൻ വീണ്ടും മനുഷ്യജന്മം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.
युधिछिर उवाच
The verse teaches that the consequences of adharma are finite: one remains in a particular post-death condition for a fixed duration, and when the accumulated demerit is exhausted, one becomes eligible for rebirth as a human. It highlights karmic accountability along with the possibility of return and moral renewal.
Yudhiṣṭhira is being addressed in a discourse on the results of actions and post-mortem states. The speaker explains that a being lives for thirteen years in that specified condition, and after the depletion of sinful residue (adharma), the being is born again among humans.