Shloka 102
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
यदि जम्बुकवाक्यानि निष्फलान्यनृतानि च । श्रोष्यथ भ्रष्टविज्ञानास्तत: सर्वे विनड्क्ष्यथ,यदि तुमलोग विवेकश्रष्ट होकर सियारकी झूठी और निष्फल बातें सुनते रहोगे तो सबके सब नष्ट हो जाओगे
yadi jambukavākyāni niṣphalāny anṛtāni ca | śroṣyatha bhraṣṭa-vijñānās tataḥ sarve vinaṅkṣyatha ||
The vulture said: “If, having lost discernment, you keep listening to the jackal’s words—fruitless and false—then all of you will come to ruin.”
गृध्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not surrender your judgment to deceptive, unproductive speech. When discernment (vijñāna) is lost and one follows false counsel, collective ruin follows; ethical living requires testing advice by truth and beneficial outcome.
A vulture warns others against heeding a jackal’s misleading talk. The warning frames the jackal’s words as both false (anṛta) and without beneficial result (niṣphala), and predicts destruction if they continue to listen.