Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
बृहस्पतिजीने कहा--राजन्! जीव उस वीर्यमें प्रविष्ट होकर जब गर्भमें संनिहित होता है, तब वे पाँचों भूत शरीररूपमें परिणत हो उसे बाँध लेते हैं, फिर उन्हीं भूतोंसे विलग होनेपर वह दूसरी गतिको प्राप्त होता है ।।
bṛhaspatir uvāca—rājan! jīvaḥ tasmin vīrye praviśya yadā garbhe saṃnihitaḥ bhavati, tadā te pañca bhūtāni śarīrarūpeṇa pariṇatāni taṃ badhnanti; punaḥ tebhya eva bhūtebhyo vilagnena sa dvitīyāṃ gatiṃ prāpnoti || sarvabhūtasamāyuktaḥ prāptaḥ jīva eva hi | tato 'sya karma paśyanti śubhaṃ vā yadi vāśubham | devatāḥ pañcabhūtasthāḥ | kiṃ bhūyaḥ śrotum icchasi ||
Bṛhaspati disse: “Ó Rei, quando o ser vivente (jīva) entra na semente e se estabelece no ventre, os cinco grandes elementos, transformados na forma de um corpo, o prendem. Quando ele se separa desses mesmos elementos, alcança outro curso de existência. De fato, é o ser encarnado—unido a todos os elementos—que experimenta prazer e dor. Então, as divindades regentes situadas nos cinco elementos contemplam se seus atos são auspiciosos ou inauspiciosos. Que mais desejas ouvir?”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Embodiment is explained as the jīva becoming bound by the five elements that constitute the body; pleasure and pain are experienced in this embodied condition, and one’s future course (gati) follows upon separation from the elements, in accordance with the moral quality (śubha/aśubha) of one’s karma, witnessed by the presiding deities.
In Yudhiṣṭhira’s dialogue, Bṛhaspati continues an instruction on birth, embodiment, and post-mortem transition: how the jīva enters the womb, becomes bound in a body made of the five elements, and later departs to another state, with its deeds evaluated in terms of merit and demerit.