Shloka 11
Jarītā-Śārṅgaka-saṃvādaḥ — The Dialogue of Jaritā and the Śārṅgaka Chicks
Fire-escape deliberation
न हायुक्त न चासत्यं नासहां न च वाप्रियम् । भाषितं चारुभाषस्य जज्ञे पार्थस्य धीमत:
na hāyuktaṃ na cāsatyaṃ nāsahāṃ na ca vāpriyam | bhāṣitaṃ cārubhāṣasya jajñe pārthasya dhīmataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : De la bouche du sage Pārtha—Yudhiṣṭhira, fils de Kuntī, toujours doux dans sa parole—ne sortit jamais une phrase inconvenante, mensongère, dure ou déplaisante. Ses mots demeuraient accordés à la bienséance, à la vérité et à la retenue, image de l’idéal éthique d’une parole maîtrisée.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ethical ideal of speech: one should avoid words that are improper (ayukta), false (asatya), harsh (asahā), or unpleasant (apriya). Yudhiṣṭhira is praised as embodying disciplined, truthful, and considerate speech—an aspect of dharma expressed through verbal conduct.
Vaiśampāyana is describing Yudhiṣṭhira’s character. In the course of narrating the epic’s events, he highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s consistent virtue: his speech is always gentle and never deviates into impropriety, falsehood, harshness, or offensiveness.