Shloka 65
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
वानरो दश वर्षाणि पज्च वर्षाणि मूषिक: । श्वाथ भूत्वा तु षण्मासांस्ततो जायति मानुष:
vānaro daśa varṣāṇi pañca varṣāṇi mūṣikaḥ | śvā tu bhūtvā tu ṣaṇmāsāṁs tato jāyati mānuṣaḥ ||
పది సంవత్సరాలు వానరముగా, ఐదు సంవత్సరాలు మూషికముగా, ఆపై ఆరు నెలలు శ్వానముగా ఉండి, తరువాత మానవ యోనిలో జన్మిస్తాడు.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to saṃsāra—movement through different births—and implies that embodied life can pass through lower and higher forms. In ethical context, it supports the Mahābhārata’s broader teaching that conduct (dharma/adharma) and karmic momentum shape one’s future embodiment, with human birth presented as a significant subsequent state.
Yudhiṣṭhira states a sequence of births with specified durations—monkey for ten years, mouse for five, dog for six months—culminating in human birth. It functions as an illustrative statement within Anuśāsana-parvan’s didactic discussion, where examples and enumerations are used to clarify moral and metaphysical points.