Shloka 16
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
आक्रुश्यमानो नाक्रुश्येन्मन्युरेनं तितिक्षत: । आक्रोष्टारं निर्दहति सुकृतं चास्य विन्दति
ākrūśyamāno nākrūśyen manyur enaṃ titikṣataḥ | ākroṣṭāraṃ nirdahati sukṛtaṃ cāsya vindati ||
The Haṃsa said: Even when abused, one should not abuse in return; one should endure that provocation. For the restrained anger of the patient person burns up the abuser and even carries away the merit (good karma) that belonged to him.
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches kṣamā and restraint in speech: when insulted, do not insult back. Patient endurance transforms anger into a moral force that harms the reviler and causes him to lose his accumulated merit.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, the speaker Haṃsa delivers a maxim about responding to abuse: the virtuous person practices forbearance, and the abuser suffers the ethical consequence—his merit is consumed and transferred away.