Shloka 23
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
न तथा वक्तुमिच्छन्ति कल्याणान् पुरुषे गुणान् | यथैषां वक्तुमिच्छन्ति नैर्गुण्यमनुयुझजका:
na tathā vaktum icchanti kalyāṇān puruṣe guṇān | yathaiṣāṃ vaktum icchanti nairguṇyam anuyujjakāḥ ||
Ceux que mène la jalousie ne veulent pas parler des vertus bénéfiques d’un homme autant qu’ils veulent, en chercheurs de fautes, proclamer ses défauts et son absence de mérite.
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
Envy and fault-finding distort perception: people readily publicize others’ defects but hesitate to acknowledge their virtues. The verse urges ethical restraint in speech and a deliberate commitment to recognize and speak truthfully about goodness.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Haṃsa speaks as a moral instructor, commenting on common human tendencies in social judgment—how detractors prefer to highlight demerits rather than praise noble qualities.