Shloka 71
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
धान्यान् यवांस्तिलान् माषान् कुलत्थान् सर्षपांश्वणान् । कलापानथ मुद्गांश्व गोधूमानतसींस्तथा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
dhānyān yavāṁs tilān māṣān kulatthān sarṣapāñ chvaṇān |
kalāpān atha mudgāṁś ca godhūmān atasīṁs tathā ||
Disse Yudhiṣṭhira: “Aquele que, sem pudor—dominado pela ignorância e pela ilusão—rouba grãos como arroz, cevada, gergelim, urad (grama preta), horse-gram, mostarda, grão-de-bico, e também ervilhas, mungo verde, trigo e linhaça: após a morte, essa pessoa primeiro se torna um rato.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Stealing basic sustenance (grains and pulses) is a serious adharma; when driven by ignorance and delusion and done without moral restraint, it leads to degrading karmic consequences, here expressed as rebirth in a low form (a mouse).
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about specific acts of wrongdoing and their results; this verse lists common food-grains and states the post-mortem consequence for stealing them.