Shloka 2

Śiśupāla-vākya: Bhīṣma-nindā and the ‘Haṃsa’ Exemplum (शिशुपालवाक्यम् — भीष्मनिन्दा, हंसदृष्टान्तः)

Devanagari script

नेदं युक्ते महीपाल यादृशं वै त्वमुक्तवान्‌ | अधर्मश्न परो राजन्‌ पारुष्यं च निरर्थकम्‌,“राजन! तुमने जैसी बात कह डाली है, वह कदापि उचित नहीं है। किसीके प्रति इस प्रकार व्यर्थ कठोर बातें कहना महान्‌ अधर्म है

Transliteration

naidaṁ yukte mahīpāla yādṛśaṁ vai tvam uktavān | adharmas tvaṁ paro rājan pāruṣyaṁ ca nirarthakam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O König, was du gesagt hast, ist keineswegs angemessen. Sinnlose, harte Worte gegen einen anderen zu schleudern, ist ein schwerer Verstoß gegen das Dharma.“

Word by Word

nanot

idamthis (statement/act)

yuktaṃproper, fitting

mahīpālaO king (protector of the earth)

yādṛśamsuch as, of the kind that

vaiindeed

tvamyou

uktavānhave said

adharmaḥunrighteousness, sin

hifor, indeed

paraḥgreat, extreme

rājanO king

pāruṣyamharshness, abusive speech

caand

nirarthakampurposeless, futile

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājan (a king, addressed)

mahīpāla (king/earth-protector, addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns purposeless harsh speech as adharma, emphasizing that ethical conduct includes restraint and propriety in words—especially for a king.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana rebukes a king for an improper remark, framing the utterance as unfitting and morally blameworthy because it is harsh and without constructive purpose.