Shloka 28
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
भूमिं भित्वौषधीश्शछित्त्वा वृक्षादीनण्डजान् पशून् | मनुष्यास्तन्वते यज्ञांस्ते स्वर्ग प्राप्रुवन्ति च
bhūmiṁ bhitvā auṣadhīḥ chittvā vṛkṣādīn aṇḍajān paśūn | manuṣyās tanvate yajñāṁs te svargaṁ prāpnuvanti ca ||
Arjuna berkata: “Dengan memecahkan bumi, memotong herba ubatan, menebang pokok-pokok dan tumbuhan lain, manusia juga mengambil haiwan yang lahir daripada telur. Daripadanya mereka melaksanakan korban suci; dan melalui perbuatan korban itu juga mereka mencapai syurga.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension: humans disturb the earth, cut plants and trees, and take animals to perform sacrifices, and yet such ritual action is traditionally said to lead to heaven. It raises the ethical question of how ritual merit is weighed against harm to living beings and nature within dharma-discourse.
Arjuna is speaking and describing common human practice: gathering resources from the earth—herbs, wood, and animals—then using them in yajñas. He notes the traditional belief that performers of such sacrifices attain svarga, setting up reflection on the ethics and rationale of sacrificial action.