Shloka 41
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
कर्मणा येन येनेह यस्यां योनौ प्रजायते । जीवो मोहसमायुक्तस्तन्मे निगदत: शृणु,जीव मोहके वशीभूत होकर जिस-जिस कर्मका अनुष्ठान करनेसे जैसी-जैसी योनिमें जन्म धारण करता है, उसे बता रहा हूँ, सुनो
karmaṇā yena yenaiha yasyāṃ yonau prajāyate | jīvo mohasamāyuktas tan me nigadataḥ śṛṇu ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Dengarlah daripadaku ketika aku menerangkan bagaimana makhluk yang dikuasai oleh kekeliruan (moha) dilahirkan ke dalam rahim ini atau itu, menurut perbuatan tertentu yang dilakukannya di dunia ini.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Birth into particular forms of existence is presented as the ethical consequence of one’s actions (karma), while delusion (moha) keeps the jīva bound to this cycle; understanding this linkage is meant to encourage responsible, dharmic conduct.
Yudhiṣṭhira introduces an explanatory section: he is about to describe how different kinds of actions lead the deluded embodied being to different births (yonis), framing the discussion as instruction to be listened to carefully.