Shloka 96
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
समयो यौवराज्यायेत्यब्रवीच्च शकुन्तलाम् | महर्षि कण्वने उस कुमार और उसके लोकोत्तर कर्मको देखकर शकुन्तलासे कहा --“अब इसके युवराज-पदपर अभिषिक्त होनेका समय आया है,सत्यधर्मच्युतात् पुंस: क्रुद्धादाशीविषादिव । अनास्तिको<प्युद्धिजते जन: कि पुनरास्तिक: जो सत्यरूपी धर्मसे भ्रष्ट है, वह पुरुष क्रोधमें भरे हुए विषधर सर्पके समान भयंकर है। उससे नास्तिक भी भय खाता है; फिर आस्तिक मनुष्यके लिये तो कहना ही क्या है
samayo yauvarājyāyety abravīc ca śakuntalām | satyadharmacchyutāt puṁsaḥ kruddhād āśīviṣād iva | nāstiko 'py udbhijate janaḥ ki punar āstikaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing the boy and his extraordinary deeds, the great sage Kaṇva spoke to Śakuntalā: “The time has come for him to be consecrated as heir-apparent. For a man who has fallen away from the dharma of truth becomes, in anger, terrifying like a venomous serpent. Even an unbeliever fears such a person—how much more, then, one who is devoted to dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness is a foundation of dharma; when a person deviates from truth, anger makes him dangerous like a venomous snake. Such moral unreliability inspires fear in everyone—especially those committed to dharma.
Vaiśampāyana reports that sage Kaṇva, impressed by the boy’s extraordinary qualities, tells Śakuntalā that the time has come to have him installed as heir-apparent, and he underscores the ethical importance of steadfast truth and dharma in rulership.