Shloka 46
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
अधीत्य चतुरो वेदान् द्विजो मोहसमन्वित: । पतितात् प्रतिगृह्याथ खरयोनौ प्रजायते,जो द्विज चारों वेदोंका अध्ययन करनेके बाद भी मोहवश पतित मनुष्योंसे दान लेता है, उसका गदहेकी योनिमें जन्म होता है
adhītya caturo vedān dvijo moha-samanvitaḥ | patitāt pratigṛhyātha khara-yonau prajāyate ||
ਜੋ ਦਵਿਜ ਚਾਰੋਂ ਵੇਦ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਕੇ ਵੀ ਮੋਹ ਵਿੱਚ ਪੈ ਕੇ ਪਤਿਤ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਤੋਂ ਦਾਨ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਅਗੇ ਚਲ ਕੇ ਗਧੇ ਦੀ ਯੋਨੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਜਨਮ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vedic learning alone does not sanctify a person; ethical discernment is essential. Accepting gifts from morally fallen sources is condemned as it corrupts the recipient and leads to severe karmic consequences, symbolized here by rebirth in a donkey’s womb.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a rule about dāna (accepting gifts): a dvija who, despite Vedic study, takes donations from a patita acts under delusion and incurs a degrading rebirth.