Shloka 11

Devanagari script

इति तेषां वच: श्रुत्वा प्रत्युवाच समाहित: । मधुरै: प्रसृतैर्वाक्यै्हेतुमद्धिरनिष्ठरै:,उनकी ऐसी बात सुनकर सियार एकाग्रचित्त हो मधुर, विस्तृत, युक्तियुक्त तथा कोमल वचनोंद्वारा इस प्रकार बोला--

Transliteration

iti teṣāṃ vacaḥ śrutvā pratyuvāca samāhitaḥ | madhuraiḥ prasṛtair vākyair hetumadbhir aniṣṭharaiḥ ||

Translation

Mendengar kata-kata mereka, si jakal menjadi tenang dan terpusat, lalu menjawab dengan kalimat-kalimat yang manis, terurai luas, bernalar dan meyakinkan, namun lembut dan tidak kasar.

Word by Word

इतिthus

तेषाम्of them

वचःspeech/words

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

प्रत्युवाचreplied/answered

समाहितःcomposed, attentive

मधुरैःwith sweet (words)

प्रसृतैःwith extended/spread-out (words)

वाक्यैःwith sentences/utterances

हेतुमद्भिःwith reasoned (words)

अनिष्ठरैःwith gentle/soft (words)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

śṛgāla (jackal)

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?

Effective counsel should be delivered with sweetness, clarity, and sound reasoning, while avoiding harshness—self-controlled speech strengthens ethical persuasion.

What is happening in the narrative?

After listening to what others have said, the jackal responds calmly, choosing gentle, well-reasoned, and elaborated words—setting the tone for a moral or strategic reply.