Shloka 88
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
मैं ऐसा वाक्य बोलूँगी, जो सार्थक होगा। उसमें अर्थभेद नहीं होगा। वह न्याययुक्त होगा। उसमें आवश्यकतासे अधिक, कर्णकटु एवं संदेह-टजनक पद नहीं होंगे। इस प्रकार मैं परम उत्तम वाक्य बोलूँगी ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | ahaṃ tādṛśaṃ vākyaṃ vakṣyāmi yat sārthakaṃ bhaviṣyati | tasminn artha-bhedo na bhaviṣyati | tad nyāya-yuktaṃ bhaviṣyati | tasminn āvaśyakatāyā adhikaṃ na bhaviṣyati, na ca karṇa-kaṭuṃ na ca saṃśaya-janakaṃ padam | evaṃ paramottamaṃ vākyaṃ vakṣyāmi || na guru-akṣara-saṃyukte parāṅmukha-sukhaṃ na ca | nānṛtaṃ na tri-vargeṇa viruddhaṃ nāpy asaṃskṛtam ||
Bhīṣma said: “I shall speak words that are truly meaningful. There will be no ambiguity of sense in them. They will be grounded in justice and right reasoning. They will not go beyond what is necessary, nor be harsh to the ear, nor phrased so as to breed doubt. Thus I shall utter the best kind of speech. My statement will not be packed with heavy, rough syllables; it will be composed in gentle and pleasing diction. Yet it will not be agreeable to those who have turned away from the right path. It will not be false, nor opposed to the three aims of life—dharma, artha, and kāma—nor will it be uncultured or devoid of refinement.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches the ethics of ideal speech: it should be meaningful, unambiguous, just, necessary (not excessive), gentle in expression, not doubt-provoking, truthful, aligned with dharma-artha-kāma, and refined—yet it need not flatter those who are averse to righteousness.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional setting, Bhishma prefaces his counsel by describing the standards he will follow in speaking—framing his forthcoming teaching as disciplined, truthful, and ethically calibrated guidance.