Shloka 39
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
कदर्थीकृत्य तद् वाक्यमृषे: कण्वस्य दुर्मति: । ऊरुं गजकराकारं ताडयन्निदमब्रवीत्
kadarthīkṛtya tad vākyam ṛṣeḥ kaṇvasya durmatiḥ | ūruṁ gajakarākāraṁ tāḍayann idam abravīt |
Vaiśampāyana said: Having contemptuously slighted the words of the sage Kaṇva, that evil-minded man struck his own thick thigh—shaped like an elephant’s trunk—and spoke as follows. The verse highlights a deliberate insult to ascetic counsel and a boastful, aggressive posture that rejects restraint and dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Contempt for a sage’s counsel signals moral decline: rejecting disciplined guidance and displaying boastful aggression are markers of adharma that lead to harmful consequences.
The narrator describes an evil-minded figure who dismisses Ṛṣi Kaṇva’s words, theatrically slaps his own heavy thigh, and then begins to speak—an action that conveys intimidation, pride, and defiance of righteous admonition.