Shloka 29
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
तेनापि सुह्दा ब्रह्मन् पार्थेनाक्लिष्टकर्मणा । नोक्तपूर्वमिदं वाक््यं यत् त्वं मामभिभाषसे
tenāpi suhṛdā brahman pārthenākliṣṭakarmaṇā | noktapūrvam idaṃ vākyaṃ yat tvaṃ mām abhibhāṣase ||
Even by that dear friend—Pārtha, whose deeds were untainted by baseness—this statement was never spoken before. Yet you now address me with these words, O Brāhmaṇa, as though such a charge were fitting.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores ethical restraint in speech: accusations or harsh words should not be lightly directed at someone, especially when even a virtuous friend like Arjuna never spoke so. Moral character (akliṣṭa-karma) is invoked as a standard for what is appropriate to say.
Vaiśampāyana reports a response in which the speaker protests being addressed with a particular statement that had never been said to him even by Arjuna, a trusted friend of impeccable conduct—implying the current addressee’s words are unusually sharp, improper, or unfounded.