Shloka 52
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
उनके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर कौशिक मुनिने उन्हें सच्ची बात बता दी--“इस वनमें जहाँ बहुत-से वृक्ष, लताएँ और झाड़ियाँ हैं, वहीं वे गये हैं।! इस प्रकार कौशिकने उन दस्युओंको यथार्थ बात बता दी ।। ततस्ते तान् समासाद्य क्रूरा जघ्नुरिति श्रुति: । तेनाधर्मेण महता वाग्दुरुक्तेन कौशिक:
tatas te tān samāsādya krūrā jaghnur iti śrutiḥ | tena adharmeṇa mahatā vāgduruktena kauśikaḥ ||
પછી દસ્યુઓ તેમને પકડીને ક્રૂરતાથી મારી નાખ્યા—એવું પરંપરામાં કહેવાય છે. તે મહા અધર્મથી, વાણીના દુરુપયોગને કારણે, કૌશિક પણ દોષમાં જોડાયો.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that speech is ethically potent: even when one states a fact, if one’s words become an instrument for harm (and are uttered without discernment or with harshness), one can incur adharma. Truthfulness is not isolated from compassion and responsibility for consequences.
After Kauśika indicates where the pursued people have gone, the cruel men catch up with them and kill them. The tradition then notes that Kauśika, through this great unrighteous outcome connected with wrongful/ill-used speech, becomes morally tainted by the event.