Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 59
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
गर्दभवत्वं तु सम्प्राप्प दश वर्षाणि जीवति । संवत्सरं तु कुम्भीरस्ततो जायेत मानव:,गदहेका शरीर पाकर वह दस वर्षोंतक जीवित रहता है। फिर एक सालतक घड़ियाल रहनेके बाद मानवयोनिमें उत्पन्न होता है
gardhabhatvaṁ tu samprāpya daśa varṣāṇi jīvati | saṁvatsaraṁ tu kumbhīras tato jāyeta mānavaḥ ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Kapag natamo ang kalagayang asno, nabubuhay nang sampung taon. Pagkaraan, matapos mabuhay nang isang taon bilang kumbhīra (isang uri ng buwaya), muling isinisilang sa kalagayang tao.” Ipinahihiwatig nito ang batas ng bunga ng karma: ang maling gawa’y nagdadala sa mababang kapanganakan, ngunit pinahihintulutan din ng ikot na makabalik sa pagiging tao, kung saan muling mapipili ang kabutihan at masusundan ang dharma.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys karmic moral causality: unethical actions can result in degrading, painful rebirths, yet the cycle is not permanent—after experiencing the consequences, one may return to human birth, where dharma and right conduct can be chosen again.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within a discussion on dharma and the fruits of actions. He cites a sequence of rebirths—donkey for ten years, then kumbhīra for one year, then human birth—to illustrate how specific karmic outcomes unfold over time.