Shloka 25
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
विषमुद्बन्धनं दाहो दस्युहस्तात् तथा वध: । देष्टिभ्यश्न पशुभ्यश्ष प्राकृतो वध उच्यते
viṣam udbandhanaṁ dāho dasyu-hastāt tathā vadhaḥ | dṛṣṭibhyasna-paśubhyas ca prākṛto vadha ucyate ||
Parāśara disse: “A morte que vem por tomar veneno, por enforcamento, por queimar-se no fogo, por cair nas mãos de ladrões, e por ser abatido por feras é chamada de morte ‘ordinária’ (baixa) — um fim ignóbil, não um fim digno.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies certain modes of dying—poison, hanging, burning, being killed by robbers, or by beasts—as ‘prākṛta’ (ordinary/base), implying an ethical valuation of ends: some deaths are regarded as ignoble compared to deaths aligned with dharma and self-mastery.
Parāśara is instructing about types of death (vadhāḥ) and their moral/qualitative status, listing specific violent or self-destructive ends and labeling them as a lower category.