Shloka 5
Dvaītavana: Brahmaghoṣa, Rṣi-saṅgha, and Baka Dālbhyā’s Upadeśa to Yudhiṣṭhira
आयसं हृदयं नूनं तस्य दुष्कृतकर्मण: । यस्त्वां धर्मपरं श्रेष्ठ रूक्षाण्यश्राववत् तदा,अवश्य ही उस कुकर्मीका हृदय लोहेका बना है, क्योंकि उसने आप-जैसे धर्मपरायण श्रेष्ठ पुछुषको भी उस समय कटु वचन सुनाये थे
āyasaṁ hṛdayaṁ nūnaṁ tasya duṣkṛtakarmaṇaḥ | yas tvāṁ dharmaparaṁ śreṣṭha rūkṣāṇy aśrāva vat tadā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Surely that evildoer’s heart must be made of iron, for he once made even you—O best of men, steadfast in dharma—hear harsh, cutting words.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruel speech toward a virtuous person is presented as a sign of deep moral hardness—an ‘iron heart’—highlighting that ethical failure is revealed not only by actions but also by how one speaks to the righteous.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana comments on an unnamed wrongdoer, condemning him by saying his heart must be iron because he once addressed a dharma-abiding, exemplary person with harsh words.