Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 56
कालयुक्तधर्मविवेकः
Discerning Dharma in Accord with Time
यस्तु शुक्लाभिजातीय: प्राणिघातविवर्जक: । निक्षिप्तशस्त्रो निर्दण्डो न हिंसति कदाचन
yastu śuklābhijātīyaḥ prāṇighātavivarjakaḥ | nikṣiptaśastro nirdaṇḍo na hiṃsati kadācana ||
Wika ni Mahādeva: “Ngunit ang taong isinilang sa dalisay na angkan at umiiwas sa pagpatay ng mga nilalang—na nagbaba ng sandata at tumalikod sa pagpaparusa—ay hindi kailanman gumagawa ng karahasan.” Sa diwang etikal, itinatanghal dito ang ahiṃsā: yaong hindi nananakit, hindi nag-uutos na manakit, ni sumasang-ayon sa pananakit; at may mapagkalingang paglingap sa lahat ng nilalang, ay pinupuri bilang umaabot sa kalagayang maka-diyos at nagtatamasa ng mga ligayang kusang dumarating sa daigdig ng mga diyos.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds ahiṃsā as a supreme ethical discipline: the best person is one who renounces weapons and coercive punishment and never harms living beings. In the broader context, this includes not only refraining from direct killing but also not instigating or approving violence, cultivating universal friendliness and compassion, and thereby attaining exalted spiritual merit.
Śrī Mahēśvara is instructing Devī, contrasting types of conduct and their results. Here he describes the non-violent, self-restrained person—one who has set aside weapons and punitive force—and indicates that such a person is praised and, in the surrounding passage, is said to attain divine/heavenly reward.