Shloka 10
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ज्ञातिसम्बन्धिवर्गक्ष मित्रवर्गस्तथैव च । मृतं शरीरमुत्सज्य काष्ठलोष्टसमं जना:
jñātisambandhivargakṣa mitravargas tathaiva ca | mṛtaṃ śarīram utsajya kāṣṭhaloṣṭasamaṃ janāḥ ||
قرابت داروں اور رشتہ داروں کا حلقہ، اور اسی طرح دوستوں کا گروہ بھی—جب جسم مر جاتا ہے تو لوگ اسے لکڑی کے ٹکڑے یا مٹی کے ڈھیلے کے برابر سمجھ کر چھوڑ دیتے ہیں۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the limited value of the physical body after death: even close relatives and friends ultimately leave the corpse behind, treating it as inert matter. Ethically, it urges detachment from mere bodily identity and a clearer focus on dharma and the enduring consequences of one’s actions.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking within a dharma-discourse context in the Anuśāsana Parva, reflecting on death and human conduct. He points out a stark social reality—after death, the body is abandoned—using it to support a moral argument about right understanding, restraint, and non-attachment.