Shloka 13

कृष्णेन विदुरं प्रति आगमन-हेतु-निवेदनम् / Krishna explains the purpose of his coming to Vidura

Devanagari script

यत्र सूक्त दुरुक्ते च सम॑ स्यान्मधुसूदन । न तत्र प्रलपेत्‌ प्राज्ञो बधिरेष्विव गायन:,“मधुसूदन! जहाँ अच्छी और बुरी बातोंका एक-सा ही परिणाम हो, वहाँ विद्वान्‌ पुरुषको कुछ नहीं कहना चाहिये। वहाँ कोई बात कहना बहरोंके आगे राग अलापनेके समान व्यर्थ ही है

Transliteration

yatra sūkta-durukte ca samaṁ syān madhusūdana | na tatra pralapet prājño badhireṣv iva gāyanaḥ ||

Translation

Ô Madhusūdana, là où le conseil bien dit et la parole mal dite aboutissent au même résultat, le sage ne doit pas gaspiller sa voix. Parler en ce lieu est vain—comme chanter une mélodie devant des sourds.

Word by Word

यत्रwhere

सुक्तेin good speech / in well-spoken words

दुरुक्तेin bad speech / in ill-spoken words

चand

समम्equally / the same

स्यात्would be / should be

मधुसूदनO Madhusudana (slayer of Madhu)

नnot

तत्रthere

प्रलपेत्should speak / should prattle

प्राज्ञःa wise man

बधिरेषुamong/for the deaf (people)

इवlike / as if

गायनःa singer

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Discerning speech is part of wisdom: when good counsel and bad speech are met with the same reception and yield the same result, speaking becomes pointless. One should conserve words and avoid futile argument where there is no capacity or willingness to listen.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, the speaker addresses Kṛṣṇa (Madhusūdana) and reflects on the limits of counsel: in a setting where words—whether good or bad—make no difference, a prudent person refrains from speaking, likening it to singing before the deaf.