Shloka 2

Adhyāya 115: On Restraint Under Verbal Provocation in the Assembly (सभायां आक्रोश-सहिष्णुता)

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच श्रूयतां पृथिवीपाल यथैषो<र्थोनुगीयते । सदा सुचेता: सहते नरस्येहाल्पमेधस:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca śrūyatāṃ pṛthivīpāla yathaiṣo 'rtho 'nugīyate | sadā su-cetāḥ sahate narasyehālpamedhasaḥ (kaṭhorāṇi vacāṃsi) ||

Translation

قال بهيشما: «يا حامي الأرض (أيها الملك)، اسمع ما جرى عليه القول في هذا الشأن كما تُتلى الرواية. في هذا العالم، الرجل ذو القلب الطاهر والعقل المنضبط يداوم على احتمال الكلمات القاسية الصادرة عن قليل الفهم—فالصبر علامة قوة الدارما.»

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'śrūyatām': 'let it be heard

• listen', 'pṛthivīpāla': 'protector of the earth

• king', 'yathā': 'as

• in the manner that', 'eṣaḥ arthaḥ': 'this meaning/matter

• this point', 'anugīyate': 'is sung after

• is traditionally recited/repeated', 'sadā': 'always', 'su-cetāḥ': 'one of good/pure mind

• well-intentioned, self-possessed', 'sahate': 'endures

• tolerates', 'nara': 'man

• person', 'iha': 'here

• in this world', 'alpa-medhasaḥ': 'of little intellect

• foolish, shallow-minded', 'kaṭhora-vacana': 'harsh speech

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• pṛthivīpāla (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person of purified mind shows strength through kṣamā (forbearance): he tolerates the harsh speech of the foolish rather than responding with anger, aligning conduct with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma addresses the king and introduces a well-known traditional maxim, teaching how the virtuous should respond to insulting or harsh words in worldly life.