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Shloka 1063

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

क्षौमं च वस्त्रमादाय शशो जन्तु: प्रजायते । सूती वस्त्रकी चोरी करके मरा हुआ मनुष्य क्रौंच पक्षीकी योनिमें जन्म लेता है। भारत! पाटम्बर

kṣaumaṃ ca vastram ādāya śaśo jantuḥ prajāyate |

Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Sesiapa yang mengambil (mencuri) pakaian kṣauma akan lahir semula sebagai makhluk seumpama arnab.” Rangkap ini menegaskan prinsip etika bahawa kecurian—lebih-lebih lagi terhadap keperluan asas orang lain seperti pakaian—membawa akibat karma, yang digambarkan di sini sebagai kelahiran semula yang hina.

क्षौमम्linen/silk cloth (kṣauma)
क्षौमम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootक्षौम
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
वस्त्रम्garment, cloth
वस्त्रम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootवस्त्र
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
आदायhaving taken
आदाय:
TypeVerb
Rootआ + दा
Formल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), non-finite
शशःhare, rabbit
शशः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशश
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
जन्तुःcreature, being
जन्तुः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootजन्तु
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
प्रजायतेis born, comes into existence
प्रजायते:
TypeVerb
Rootप्र + जन्
Formलट्, Present, Ātmanepada, Third, Singular

युधिछिर उवाच

Y
Yudhiṣṭhira
K
kṣauma (cloth/garment)
V
vastra (garment)
Ś
śaśa (hare/rabbit)

Educational Q&A

The core teaching is that theft (especially of necessities like clothing) violates dharma and results in karmic retribution, here symbolized by rebirth into a lower animal form (hare).

Within Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instructions, Yudhiṣṭhira states a specific karmic consequence: stealing a kṣauma garment leads to rebirth as a hare-like creature, illustrating moral causality through concrete examples.