Shloka 34
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
धर्म्यमर्थ्य च काम्यं च काले चाभिटह्तितं वच: । न प्रतीयन्ति ते नूनं तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
dharmyām arthīṃ ca kāmyāṃ ca kāle cābhihitaṃ vacaḥ | na pratīyanti te nūnaṃ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
«إن كلامك موافق للدارما، مُعين على المعاش، مُرضٍ للرغبة المشروعة، ويُقال في أوانه؛ ومع ذلك لا يضع الناس فيه ثقةً صادقة. فلذلك، يا أيها الأيل، غدوتَ خافتَ البريق نحيفاً.»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even speech that is righteous (dharma-aligned), beneficial (artha-oriented), pleasing (kāma-appropriate), and timely (kāla) may fail if it is not trusted or received; the verse highlights the ethical importance of credibility and the social conditions that allow good counsel to bear fruit.
A Brahmin addresses a deer, observing that the deer’s counsel or utterances are well-formed—righteous, useful, pleasing, and timely—yet others do not accept them; the Brahmin links this lack of acceptance to the deer’s diminished vitality and emaciation.