Shloka 85
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
बह्ललीकमसत्यं चाप्यतिवादाप्रियंवदम् । इमं॑ प्रेक्ष्य पुनर्भावं दुः:खशोकविवर्धनम्
bahllīkam asatyaṃ cāpy ativādāpriyaṃ vadam | imaṃ prekṣya punarbhāvaṃ duḥkhaśokavivardhanam ||
“(One becomes) deceitful and untruthful, given to excessive and harsh speech, speaking what is unpleasant. Seeing this repeated cycle of rebirth, which only increases suffering and grief…”
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Untruth, deceit, and harsh or excessive speech are portrayed as moral degradations that perpetuate saṃsāra by intensifying duḥkha (suffering) and śoka (grief). The verse frames ethical speech and truthfulness as essential for reducing harm and breaking patterns that lead to continued misery.
Jambuka is describing the negative traits and consequences that arise in worldly existence: people become deceitful, untruthful, and speak unpleasantly. He then points to punarbhāva (repeated rebirth) as a condition that, when observed, is recognized as a cause of increasing sorrow and suffering.