Shloka 3
Śānti Parva, Adhyāya 52 — Bhīṣma’s Humility Before Kṛṣṇa and the Granting of Boons
कि चाहमभिधास्यामि वाक्य ते तव संनिधौ । यदा वाचोगतं सर्व तव वाचि समाहितम्,“भला” मैं आपके समीप क्या कह सकूँगा? जब कि वाणीका सारा विषय आपकी वेदमयी वाणीमें प्रतिष्ठित है
ki cāham abhidhāsyāmi vākyaṁ te tava saṁnidhau | yadā vācogataṁ sarvaṁ tava vāci samāhitam ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Quels mots pourrais-je bien te dire, en ta propre présence, lorsque tout ce que la parole peut exprimer se trouve déjà rassemblé et solidement établi dans ton énonciation même, pareille au Veda ?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights intellectual and ethical humility: true wisdom is not mere verbosity, and one should recognize when another’s speech already encompasses the full scope of what can be said—especially when it is grounded in Vedic authority and disciplined understanding.
Vaiśampāyana expresses deference to his interlocutor, saying he can hardly add anything in that person’s presence because all expressible knowledge is already contained and well-established in the other’s Veda-like speech.