Shloka 102
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
अयो हत्वा तु दुर्बद्धिवायसो जायते नर: । कांस्य हृत्वा तु दुर्बुद्धिहारितो जायते नर:,लोहेकी चोरी करनेवाला मूर्ख मानव कौवा होता है। काँसकी चोरी करके खोटी बुद्धिवाला मनुष्य हारीत नामक पक्षी होता है
ayō hatvā tu durbuddhi-vāyaso jāyate naraḥ | kāṁsyaṁ hṛtvā tu durbuddhi-hārito jāyate naraḥ ||
अयो हत्वा तु दुर्बुद्धिर्वायसो जायते नरः । कांस्यं हृत्वा तु दुर्बुद्धिर्हारितो जायते नरः ॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that theft rooted in corrupt moral discernment (durbuddhi) produces adverse karmic results, including lower rebirths. It frames ethical causality: wrongful acquisition leads to degradation, and specific acts are said to correspond to specific outcomes.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking about the consequences of unethical acts. Here he cites traditional karmic correspondences: stealing iron leads to rebirth as a crow, and stealing bell-metal leads to rebirth as a bird called hārita.