शल्यस्य सेनापत्याभ्युपगमः | Śalya’s Acceptance of Command
नाभ्यसूयामि ते वाक्यमुक्तं स्निग्धं हितं त्वया
nābhyasūyāmi te vākyam uktaṁ snigdhaṁ hitaṁ tvayā
Sañjaya said: “I do not take fault with your words—spoken by you with affection and with a view to what is truly beneficial.”
संजय उवाच
The verse upholds ethical communication: when advice is offered with goodwill (snigdha) and aimed at welfare (hita), it should not be met with censure or suspicion. It models restraint from fault-finding and a readiness to honor well-intentioned counsel.
Sañjaya responds to another speaker’s counsel, explicitly stating that he does not disparage it because it was delivered kindly and for the listener’s benefit—signaling a respectful, dharma-aligned exchange amid the tense wartime setting of the Śalya Parva.