Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 466
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
किल्बिषं सुबह प्राप्ता: किंस्विदेषां प्रतिक्रिया । “देवराज! मनुष्य मोहवश जो तिर्यग्योनिमें पड़े हुए प्राणियों
kilbiṣaṃ subah prāptāḥ kiṃ svid eṣāṃ pratikriyā | “devarāja! manuṣyā mohavaśaḥ yo tiryagyoni-meṃ paṛe hue prāṇiyoṃ, mṛga, pakṣī aur bheṛ-ādiko tathā kīṛoṃ, cīṃṭe-cīṃṭiyoṃ evaṃ sarpoṃ kī hiṃsā karate haiṃ, isase ve bahut-sā pāpa baṭor lete haiṃ | unake liye in pāpoṃ se chūṭane kā kyā upāya hai?”
O mensageiro divino disse: “Eles incorreram em grave pecado—qual é o remédio para eles? Ó rei dos deuses! Quando os homens, movidos pela ilusão, ferem seres nascidos de ventre animal—feras, aves, ovelhas e semelhantes—bem como vermes, formigas e serpentes, acumulam muita culpa. Por que meio podem ser libertos desses pecados?”
देवदूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
Harming any living being—whether large animals, birds, or even small creatures like insects and ants—creates serious moral demerit; the passage frames this as a dharmic problem and asks for a prescribed remedy (prāyaścitta/upāya) to be freed from such sin.
A divine messenger addresses Indra, describing how humans, overcome by delusion, commit violence against many kinds of creatures and thereby accumulate great sin, and then asks Indra what countermeasure or expiation can remove those sins.