Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 10
मांसभक्षण-दोषाः तथा अहिंसाया माहात्म्यम् | Faults of Meat-Consumption and the Supremacy of Ahiṃsā
यथा पर: प्रक्रमते परेषु तथापरे प्रक्रमन्ते परस्मिन् । तथैव ते<स्तूपमा जीवलोके यथा धर्मो नैपुणेनोपदिष्ट:
yathā paraḥ prakramate pareṣu tathāpare prakramante parasmin | tathaiva te 'stūpamā jīvaloke yathā dharmo naipuṇenopadiṣṭaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Kung paanong ang isang tao ay marahas na sumusugod laban sa iba, gayon din, kapag dumating ang pagkakataon, ang iba ay susugod din laban sa kanya. Ituring mo ito bilang halimbawa para sa iyong sarili sa daigdig ng mga nilalang na may buhay. Kaya’t hindi nararapat na salakayin ang sinuman. Sa ganitong paraan, ang dharma ay itinuturo rito nang may husay at malinaw na pag-unawa.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Aggression invites counter-aggression; therefore one should refrain from attacking others. The verse presents a practical, worldly analogy to teach dharma through tactful moral reasoning.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates an ethical principle using an analogy: how one treats others tends to return upon oneself, so restraint and non-aggression are advised.