Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 156
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
तुलया धारयन् धर्ममभिमान्यतिरिच्यते । वह तीस नरकोंमें पड़कर अंतमें अपनी ही विष्ठापर जीनेवाला कीड़ा होता है। कुत्तोंको पालना
tulayā dhārayan dharmam abhimāny atiricyate |
Wika ng Cāṇḍāla: “Kapag ang dharma ay itinimbang sa timbangan, ang pagmamataas ang mas bumibigat.” Ang diwa nito: ang kayabangan ay maaaring maging kasalanang higit pang mabigat kaysa sa katuwiran mismo—isang kapintasan na, kapag inihambing sa iba pang mabibigat na sala, ay siya pa ring nagpapakiling sa timbangan at humihila sa tao sa kapahamakan.
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pride (abhimāna) is portrayed as a uniquely destructive fault: when moral choices are ‘weighed,’ arrogance can outweigh dharma itself, corrupting judgment and leading one away from righteous conduct.
A Chāṇḍāla speaker delivers a pointed ethical maxim using the metaphor of a balance: in the moral reckoning of actions and dispositions, pride is said to tip the scale, emphasizing its danger within dharma-discourse in the Anuśāsana Parva.