Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 119
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
भोजन चोरयित्वा तु मक्षिका जायते नर: । मक्षिकासंघवशगो बहून् मासान् भवत्युत
bhojanaṃ corayitvā tu makṣikā jāyate naraḥ | makṣikāsaṅghavaśago bahūn māsān bhavaty uta ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Ang taong nagnanakaw ng pagkain ay muling isisilang bilang langaw. Napapasailalim sa paghahari ng isang kawan ng mga langaw, mananatili siya sa gayong kalagayan sa loob ng maraming buwan.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Stealing even basic necessities like food is treated as adharma with tangible karmic consequences; the verse warns that such wrongdoing can lead to a degrading rebirth and prolonged suffering, reinforcing restraint, honesty, and respect for others’ sustenance.
Within Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharma-inquiry context in the Anuśāsana Parva, he states a specific karmaphala (result of action): the thief of food is said to be reborn as a fly and to endure life under the compulsion of a swarm for many months.