Shloka 63
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
कच्छपो दश वर्षाणि त्रीणि वर्षाणि शल्यक: । व्यालो भूत्वा च षण्मासांस्ततो जायति मानुष:,दस वर्षतक कछुआ रहनेके पश्चात् तीन वर्ष साही और छ: महीनेतक सर्प होता है। उसके अनन्तर वह मनुष्यकी योनिमें जन्म लेता है
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca:
Kacchapo daśa varṣāṇi trīṇi varṣāṇi śalyakaḥ |
Vyālo bhūtvā ca ṣaṇmāsāṁs tato jāyati mānuṣaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Selama sepuluh tahun ia menjadi kura-kura; selama tiga tahun menjadi landak (porcupine); dan setelah menjadi ular selama enam bulan, barulah kemudian ia lahir semula dalam rahim manusia.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic consequence and the graded movement through non-human forms before returning to human birth, implying that actions can lead to constrained existences and that human birth is regained after undergoing specific results.
Yudhiṣṭhira states a sequence of rebirth durations—tortoise for ten years, porcupine for three, serpent for six months—after which the being is born as a human again, as part of a discussion on the fruits of conduct and the workings of dharma.