Shloka 38
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
धनेन क्रयिको हन्ति खादकश्नोपभोगत: । घातको वधबन्धाभ्यामित्येष त्रिविधो वध:
dhanena krayiko hanti khādakaś copabhogataḥ | ghātako vadhabandhābhyām ity eṣa trividho vadhaḥ ||
Bhīṣma menjelaskan: “Pembeli membunuh dengan wang; pemakan membunuh melalui pemakanan dan kenikmatan; pembunuh membunuh melalui penyembelihan atau dengan mengikat dan menyerahkan kepada maut. Demikianlah pembunuhan itu tiga jenis.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Violence carries moral responsibility in multiple forms: commissioning it with money, benefiting from it through consumption/enjoyment, and directly performing or facilitating it (including binding and handing over to death). Dharma evaluates not only the act but also the enabling and profiting from the act.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he classifies 'killing' as threefold to clarify ethical accountability. He broadens the notion of culpability beyond the immediate killer to include those who purchase/commission and those who consume the results.