Shloka 90
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
मूर्खो हि जल्पतां पुंसां श्रुत्वा वाच: शुभाशुभा: | अशुभ वाक्यमादत्ते पुरीषमिव सूकर:,मूर्ख मनुष्य परस्पर वार्तालाप करनेवाले दूसरे लोगोंकी भली-बुरी बातें सुनकर उनमेंसे बुरी बातोंको ही ग्रहण करता है; ठीक वैसे ही, जैसे सूअर अन्य वस्तुओंके रहते हुए भी विष्ठाको ही अपना भोजन बनाता है
mūrkho hi jalpatāṃ puṃsāṃ śrutvā vācaḥ śubhāśubhāḥ | aśubha-vākyam ādatte purīṣam iva sūkaraḥ ||
Dushyanta said: “A fool, after hearing the good and the bad words spoken in people’s conversation, seizes only the harmful remark—just as a pig, though other things are available, chooses excrement as its food.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment in listening: an undiscriminating person fixates on and adopts the worst part of what is heard, whereas a wise person would select what is wholesome and beneficial.
Dushyanta is speaking in a didactic tone, using a sharp simile (a pig choosing filth) to criticize foolishness and to highlight how some people, even when exposed to mixed speech, latch onto the harmful or base element.