Shloka 118
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
ततः पश्चान्महाराज कृमियोनौ प्रजायते । कृमिर्विशतिवर्षाणि भूत्वा जायति मानुष:,महाराज! तदनन्तर वह कीड़ेकी योनिमें जन्म लेता है और बीस वर्षोंतक कीट-योनिमें रहकर अन्तमें मनुष्य होता है
tataḥ paścān mahārāja kṛmiyonau prajāyate | kṛmir viśati-varṣāṇi bhūtvā jāyati mānuṣaḥ ||
اے مہاراج! اس کے بعد وہ کیڑے کی یونی میں پیدا ہوتا ہے۔ بیس برس کیڑا بن کر رہتا ہے، پھر اس کے بعد دوبارہ انسان کے طور پر جنم لیتا ہے۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic consequence and moral causality: certain actions can lead to degrading rebirths, yet the cycle also allows eventual return to human birth after undergoing the appropriate fruition of karma.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes a sequence of rebirth: after a prior stage (implied by the surrounding discussion), the being is born as a worm, remains in that state for twenty years, and then is reborn as a human—illustrating the graded results of deeds across lives.