Shloka 41
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
विप्रवर! तदनन्तर तोतेने अग्निका पता बता दिया। फिर तो देवता शमीवृक्षकी ओर दौड़े। यह देख अग्निने तोतेको शाप दे दिया--'तू वाणीसे रहित हो जायगा” ।।
jihdām āvartayāmāsa tasyāpi hutabhuk tathā | dṛṣṭvā tu jvalanaṃ devāḥ śukam ūcur dayānvitāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Then Agni, the consumer of oblations, also caused the parrot’s tongue to turn back, so that it could not speak. Seeing the blazing fire, the gods—moved by compassion—addressed the parrot.” The episode highlights the moral tension between speaking a truth that endangers others and the consequences of anger-born punishment; compassion and restraint are upheld as the higher response to harm.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that anger and punitive impulses (even when provoked) can lead to disproportionate harm—here, the loss of speech—whereas compassion and restraint are portrayed as the nobler, dharmic response.
Agni (Hutabhuk) renders the parrot speechless by causing its tongue to retract; the gods, seeing the blazing fire and moved by pity, then speak to the parrot, indicating an intervention motivated by compassion.