Shloka 30
Adhyāya 223: Nāradasya Guṇa-kathana
Catalogue of Nārada’s Virtues
त्वं तु प्राकृतया बुद्धया पुरन्दर विकत्थसे । यदाहमिव भावी स्यास्तदा नैव॑ वदिष्यसि
tvaṃ tu prākṛtayā buddhyā purandara vikatthase | yadāham iva bhāvī syās tadā naiva vadiṣyasi ||
But you, O Purandara, boast under the sway of an unrefined, worldly understanding. When you come to be in a condition like mine, then you will not speak so at all.
(भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against pride born of superficial or ‘worldly’ understanding. True judgment arises from lived experience and empathy; when one faces the same hardship, boastful speech naturally falls away.
Bhishma addresses Indra (Purandara), rebuking him for speaking boastfully from a limited perspective. Bhishma implies that Indra’s tone would change if he were to undergo the same condition or suffering that Bhishma has endured.