Shloka 83
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
पूर्व दत्त्वा तु यः कन्यां द्वितीये दातुमिच्छति । सो<पि राजन् मृतो जन्तुः कृमियोनौ प्रजायते
pūrvaṃ dattvā tu yaḥ kanyāṃ dvitīye dātum icchati | so 'pi rājan mṛto jantuḥ kṛmiyonau prajāyate ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O Hari, ang sinumang matapos munang ipakasal ang isang dalaga, ay nanaisin pang ipakasal ang gayon ding dalaga sa ikalawang lalaki—siya man, pagpanaw, ay muling isisilang sa sinapupunan ng mga uod. Ito’y ipinahayag na mabigat na paglabag sa moralidad sa usapin ng pag-aasawa at tungkuling panlipunan.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that violating the integrity of a maiden’s marriage arrangement—by attempting to ‘give’ the same girl again to another man after already giving her—constitutes a serious breach of dharma, bringing severe karmic consequences (symbolized by rebirth in a low form such as worms).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instructional discourse on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king and cites a moral rule concerning marriage conduct, emphasizing the gravity of reassigning a bride after an initial giving.