Shloka 14
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १३५: कुन्त्याः कृष्णं प्रति संदेशः
Kuntī’s Message to Kṛṣṇa
अहं हि वचन त्वत्त: शुश्रूषुरपरापरम् । किंचित् किंचित् प्रतिवर्दस्तूष्णीमासं मुहुर्मुहु:,मैं बराबर तेरी नयी-नयी बातें सुनना चाहता था। इसीलिये बारंबार बीच-बीचमें कुछ- कुछ बोलकर फिर मौन हो जाता था
ahaṃ hi vacanaṃ tvattaḥ śuśrūṣur aparāparam | kiṃcit kiṃcit prativardaḥ tūṣṇīm āsaṃ muhur muhuḥ ||
The son said: “I was eager to hear ever more of your words, one after another. That is why, from time to time, I would interject a little and then repeatedly fall silent again—so that your fresh counsel might continue without interruption.”
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights attentive listening as an ethical discipline: the listener restrains speech, offers only brief interjections, and returns to silence so that wise counsel can unfold fully.
In a dialogue, the son explains his behavior to the elder speaker: he kept speaking only a little at intervals and repeatedly became silent because he wished to keep hearing more and more of the other’s words.