Shloka 28
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
भूलिड्शशकुनिर्नाम पाश्वे हिमवतः परे । भीष्म तस्या: सदा वाच: श्रूयन्ते<र्थविगर्हिता:
bhūliṅgaśakuniḥ nāma pārśve himavataḥ pare | bhīṣma tasyāḥ sadā vācaḥ śrūyante ’rthavigarhitāḥ ||
Śiśupāla sprach: „O Bhīṣma! Jenseits des Himavat, auf seiner ferneren Seite, gibt es einen Vogel namens Bhūliṅga. Aus seinem Schnabel hört man unablässig Rede, die dem Sinn nach tadelnswert ist—Worte, die der rechten Lebensführung zuwiderlaufen und darum Zensur verdienen.“
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against speech whose meaning is ethically censurable—words that contradict right conduct. It implies that constant, ill-meaning speech is a mark of blame and should not be emulated in a dharmic assembly.
In the royal assembly context, Śiśupāla addresses Bhīṣma and introduces a proverbial example: a bird beyond the Himālaya whose speech is always reprehensible in meaning. He uses this image as a rhetorical device within his critique in the Sabha.