Shloka 46
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
अधीत्य चतुरो वेदान् द्विजो मोहसमन्वित: । पतितात् प्रतिगृह्याथ खरयोनौ प्रजायते,जो द्विज चारों वेदोंका अध्ययन करनेके बाद भी मोहवश पतित मनुष्योंसे दान लेता है, उसका गदहेकी योनिमें जन्म होता है
adhītya caturo vedān dvijo moha-samanvitaḥ | patitāt pratigṛhyātha khara-yonau prajāyate ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Kahit napag-aralan na ang apat na Veda, kung ang isang dvija (dalawang ulit na isinilang), na natatabingan ng kamangmangan, ay tumanggap ng handog mula sa taong bagsak ang dangal at asal, siya’y muling isisilang sa sinapupunan ng asno.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vedic learning alone does not sanctify a person; ethical discernment is essential. Accepting gifts from morally fallen sources is condemned as it corrupts the recipient and leads to severe karmic consequences, symbolized here by rebirth in a donkey’s womb.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a rule about dāna (accepting gifts): a dvija who, despite Vedic study, takes donations from a patita acts under delusion and incurs a degrading rebirth.