Shloka 14
Vivāha-dharma: Kanyā-pradāna, Śulka, and Pāṇigrahaṇa-niṣṭhā (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४४)
सतां वाचं गुरो: पत्न्या विपुल: पर्यवर्तयत् । भो: किमागमने कृत्यमिति तस्यास्तु नि:सृता
satāṁ vācaṁ guroḥ patnyā vipulaḥ paryavartayat | bhoḥ kim āgamane kṛtyam iti tasyāstu niḥsṛtā ||
Bhishma said: Vipula altered the words that the guru’s wife was about to speak. Instead, what suddenly escaped from her mouth was: “Hey! For what purpose have you come here?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of speech: words may be restrained or redirected in situations charged with propriety, temptation, or social duty, and even a brief utterance can reveal inner intention and shape moral outcomes.
In Bhishma’s narration, Vipula intervenes so that the guru’s wife does not speak the words she intended; instead, she blurts out a guarded question—asking why the other person has come—signaling a tense or morally sensitive encounter.