Shloka 38

अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः

Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind

Devanagari script

अव्याह्तं व्याहृताच्छेय आहु: सत्य॑ं वदेद्‌ व्याहृतं तद्‌ द्वितीयम्‌ । धर्म वदेद्‌ व्याहृतं तत्‌ तृतीयं प्रियं वदेद्‌ व्याह्ृतं तच्चतुर्थम्‌,व्यर्थ बोलनेकी अपेक्षा मौन रहना अच्छा बताया गया है, (यह वाणीकी प्रथम विशेषता है) सत्य बोलना वाणीकी दूसरी विशेषता है, प्रिय बोलना वाणीकी तीसरी विशेषता है। धर्मसम्मत बोलना यह वाणीकी चौथी विशेषता है (इनमें उत्तरोत्तर श्रेष्ठता है)

Transliteration

avyāhṛtaṃ vyāhṛtāc chreya āhuḥ; satyaṃ vaded vyāhṛtaṃ tad dvitīyam | dharmaṃ vaded vyāhṛtaṃ tat tṛtīyaṃ; priyaṃ vaded vyāhṛtaṃ tac caturtham ||

Translation

Le Haṃsa dit : « Ils déclarent que se taire vaut mieux que parler. Si l’on doit parler, dire la vérité est la seconde (vertu). Parler conformément au dharma est la troisième. Dire ce qui est agréable est la quatrième. » Ainsi l’enseignement hiérarchise les disciplines de la parole, en commençant par la retenue, puis en orientant la parole vers la vérité, le dharma et l’agrément.

Word by Word

अव्याहृतम्unuttered (silence)

व्याहृतात्than what is spoken

श्रेयःbetter, preferable

आहुःthey say

सत्यम्truth

वदेत्one should speak

व्याहृतम्utterance, spoken word

तत्that

द्वितीयम्second

धर्मम्dharma, righteousness

वदेत्one should speak

व्याहृतम्utterance, spoken word

तत्that

तृतीयम्third

प्रियम्pleasant, agreeable

वदेत्one should speak

व्याहृतम्utterance, spoken word

तत्that

चतुर्थम्fourth

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

Haṃsa (the Swan sage/speaker)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a graded discipline of speech: the highest safeguard is silence (not speaking unnecessarily). If one must speak, one should prioritize truth, then dharma-aligned speech, and also ensure speech is pleasing—so that words are restrained, truthful, righteous, and gentle rather than harmful or frivolous.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the Haṃsa delivers moral instruction. Here the speaker lays down a normative hierarchy for how a wise person should handle speech, presenting it as a traditional maxim (“they declare”).