Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 8
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
जघ्नुस्ता: पयसा पुत्रांस्तथा पौत्रान् विधुन्वती: । पशूनवेक्षमाणाश्च साधुवृत्तेन दम्पती
jaghnustāḥ payasā putrāṁs tathā pautrān vidhunvatīḥ | paśūn avekṣamāṇāś ca sādhuvṛttena dampatī ||
群牛因痛苦而战栗，四顾寻觅别的牲畜；当它们看不见正当的主人与自己的犊子时，便在哀楚中颤抖。随后，它们竟以自身之乳，毁灭了那对以盗取为生的夫妇——并及其子与孙。此事昭示：不义生计所造之害必反噬其人；甚至本为养命之物，在违背达摩之时亦可化为报应之器。
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
A livelihood rooted in adharma—such as theft and exploitation—invites inevitable ruin. The verse frames moral causality: violating rightful ownership and harming dependents (cows and calves) turns even nourishing milk into a means of punishment, emphasizing dharma’s protective and corrective force.
The cows, distressed because they cannot find their owner and calves and are searching among other cattle, tremble in pain. In that state, they bring about the destruction of the abducting/stealing couple and also their sons and grandsons—said to occur through the agency of the cows’ milk.