Shloka 48

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

Devanagari script

बलीवर्दों मृतश्चापि जायते ब्रद्यराक्षस: । ब्रह्मरक्षश्ष मासांस्त्रींस्ततो जायति ब्राह्मण:

Transliteration

balīvardo mṛtaś cāpi jāyate brahmarākṣasaḥ | brahmarākṣasaḥ māsāṁs trīṁs tato jāyati brāhmaṇaḥ ||

Translation

యుధిష్ఠిరుడు అన్నాడు—ఎద్దు మరణించినప్పుడు అది బ్రహ్మరాక్షసుడిగా జన్మిస్తుంది. మూడు నెలలు బ్రహ్మరాక్షస స్థితిలో ఉండి, తరువాత మళ్లీ బ్రాహ్మణుడిగా జన్మిస్తుంది.

Word by Word

• बलीवर्दः: the bull/ox
• बलीवर्दः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलीवर्द
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मृतः: dead
• मृतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

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

• जायते: is born/becomes
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• ब्रह्मराक्षसः: a brahma-rākṣasa (a Brahmin turned demon/ghost)
• ब्रह्मराक्षसः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मराक्षस
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मासान्: months
• मासान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• त्रीन्: three
• त्रीन्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ततः: then/thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• जायति: is born (again)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• balīvarda (bull/ox)
• brahmarākṣasa
• brāhmaṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a karmic sequence: a being’s next state can shift dramatically based on moral causality, including an intermediate, painful or distorted condition (brahmarākṣasa) before returning to a higher birth (brāhmaṇa). It highlights accountability and the possibility of restoration after a limited period of consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within a dharma-discourse context, describing the post-mortem destiny of a bull: upon death it becomes a brahmarākṣasa, remains so for three months, and then is reborn as a brāhmaṇa—an illustrative example used to explain moral recompense and transformation across births.