Shloka 583
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
उक्त: पशुसमो दोषो राजन् प्राणिनिपातनात् । कुत्ते, सूअर और गदहोंकी हत्या करके मनुष्य शूद्रवध-सम्बधी व्रतका ही आचरण करे। राजन! बिल्ली, नीलकण्ठ, मेढक, कौआ, साँप और चूहा आदि प्राणियोंको मारनेसे भी उक्त पशुवधके ही समान पाप बताया गया है
bhīṣma uvāca | uktaḥ paśusamo doṣo rājan prāṇinipātanāt | kutte sūkara-gardabhān hatvā manuṣyaḥ śūdravadha-sambandhi-vratasyaiva ācaraṇaṃ kuryāt | rājan! mārjāra-nīlakaṇṭha-maṇḍūka-kāka-sarpa-mūṣakādi-prāṇināṃ vadhenāpi ukta-paśuvadha-samo doṣaḥ proktaḥ |
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “O Hari, ipinahayag na ang kasalanang dulot ng pagkitil sa buhay ng mga nilalang ay maihahambing sa kasalanan ng pagpatay ng hayop. Kung ang isang tao’y pumatay ng aso, baboy, o asno, dapat siyang ituring na kailangang gumanap ng panatang pampagtubos na itinakda para sa pagpatay sa isang Śūdra. O Hari, maging ang pagpatay sa mga nilalang gaya ng pusa, paboreal, palaka, uwak, ahas, o daga ay sinasabing nagdudulot ng kasalanang kapantay ng gayong pagpatay ng hayop na nabanggit. Itinuturo nito ang pagpipigil sa walang saysay na pananakit at ang bigat na moral ng karahasan laban sa may buhay.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that taking life (prāṇinipātana) carries serious moral fault, and that killing even commonly disregarded animals is treated as a grave ethical transgression, requiring expiatory discipline; it reinforces restraint and non-violence as part of dharma.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on dharma after the war. Here he explains the demerit attached to killing various creatures and links such acts to prescribed expiations, framing the king’s governance and personal conduct around ethical accountability.