Shloka 42
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
भविता न त्वमत्यन्तं शुकत्वे नष्टवागिति । आवृत्तजिद्दस्य सतो वाक््यं कान््तं भविष्यति
bhavitā na tvam atyantaṃ śukatve naṣṭavāg iti | āvṛttajiddasya sato vākyaṃ kāntaṃ bhaviṣyati ||
Bhīṣma said: “You will not remain forever in the state of a parrot, with your speech lost. When one who has mastered himself and turned back from wrongdoing is truly virtuous, his words become pleasing and worthy to be heard.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral transformation is possible: a degraded condition (symbolized by ‘parrot-hood’ and loss of speech) is not permanent. When one turns back from wrongdoing and becomes truly virtuous, one’s speech becomes refined, beneficial, and pleasing—suggesting that ethical self-conquest purifies expression.
Bhīṣma reassures the addressed person that their current impaired state—being like a parrot and deprived of proper speech—will not last. He links the restoration and beauty of speech to inner victory: desisting from harmful conduct and becoming ‘sat’ (a good person) makes one’s words admirable.