Shloka 1
Adhyāya 115: On Restraint Under Verbal Provocation in the Assembly (सभायां आक्रोश-सहिष्णुता)
ऑपन--मा_जल छा असल चतुर्दशाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: दुष्ट मनुष्यद्वारा की हुई निन्दाको सह लेनेसे लाभ युधिछिर उवाच विद्वान् मूर्खप्रगल्भेन मृदुतीक्ष्णेन भारत । आक्रुश्यमान: सदसि कथं कुर्यादरिंदम
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
vidvān mūrkha-pragalbhena mṛdu-tīkṣṇena bhārata |
ākruśyamānaḥ sadasi kathaṃ kuryād ariṃdama ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Bhārata, O subduer of foes—if, in the midst of an assembly, a learned man is reviled by an impudent fool, whether with honeyed words or with harsh ones, how should he conduct himself?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical problem central to dharma: how a truly learned person should respond when publicly insulted—whether the insult is delivered sweetly or harshly—highlighting restraint, dignity, and right conduct in social settings.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma for guidance on proper behavior: when an impudent, ignorant person reviles a learned man in an assembly, what response is appropriate.