Shloka 17

Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption

Devanagari script

लोभान्मोहादनुक्रोशाद्‌ भयाद्‌ वाप्यबहुश्रुतः:

Transliteration

lobhān mohād anukrośād bhayād vāpy abahuśrutaḥ

Translation

Юдхиштхира сказал: «Из-за алчности, из-за заблуждения, из-за сострадания не к месту или даже из страха — тот, кто плохо наставлен (в шастрах), поступает неправедно.»

Word by Word

• लोभात्: from greed
• लोभात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभ
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• मोहात्: from delusion
• मोहात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोह
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• अनुक्रोशात्: from compassion/pity
• अनुक्रोशात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुक्रोश
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• भयात्: from fear
• भयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अबहुश्रुतः: one who is not well-learned; uneducated
• अबहुश्रुतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-बहुश्रुत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ethical failure often arises from inner impulses—greed, delusion, fear, and even compassion when it is not guided by dharma. Therefore, true moral action requires learning (śāstra), reflection, and discernment, not merely emotion.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Yudhiṣṭhira frames a moral inquiry by listing the common psychological causes that lead an insufficiently educated person to deviate from righteous conduct.