Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 108
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
वर्णकादींस्तथा गन्धांश्नोरयित्वेह मानव:,राजन! जो मनुष्य लोभके वशीभूत होकर वर्णक (अनुलेपन) आदि तथा चन्दनकी चोरी करता है, वह छछूँदर होता है। उस योनिमें वह पंद्रह वर्षतक जीवित रहता है
varṇakādīṁs tathā gandhān snorayitvehā mānavaḥ, rājan! yo manuṣyo lobhake vaśībhūtaḥ kṛtvā varṇaka (anulepana) ādi tathā candanasya corī karoti, sa chachūndaraḥ bhavati. tasmin yoniṁ sa pañcadaśa varṣāṇi jīvati.
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O Hari! Ang taong dinaig ng kasakiman at nagnakaw ng mga pampahid at pampabango—gaya ng mababangong paste at sandalwood—ay mahuhulog sa sinapupunan ng isang shrew (musk-rat). Sa buhay na iyon, mabubuhay siya nang labinlimang taon.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed-driven theft, even of seemingly minor luxury items like perfumes, unguents, and sandalwood, is adharma and leads to painful karmic consequences—here expressed as a low animal rebirth with a fixed, limited lifespan.
Within a discourse on dharma and the fruits of actions, Yudhiṣṭhira states a specific karmic result: a person who steals fragrant cosmetics and sandalwood, being controlled by greed, is reborn as a chachūndara (shrew/musk-rat) and lives in that form for fifteen years.