Shloka 25
जानन्नपि महाराज कस्मादेवं प्रभाषसे । न जानामीति नि:शड्कं यथान्य: प्राकृतो जन:,वह दो घड़ीतक कुछ सोच-विचार-सा करती रही, फिर दुःख और अमर्षमें भरकर पतिकी ओर देखती हुई क्रोधपूर्वक बोली--“महाराज! आप जान-बूझकर भी दूसरे-दूसरे निम्न कोटिके मनुष्योंकी भाँति निःशंक होकर ऐसी बात क्यों कहते हैं कि “मैं नहीं जानता”
jānann api mahārāja kasmād evaṁ prabhāṣase | na jānāmīti niḥśaṅkaṁ yathānyaḥ prākṛto janaḥ ||
“O great king, though you know, why do you speak in this way? Why do you, without hesitation, say ‘I do not know,’ like some ordinary, uncultivated man?”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse censures deliberate denial of known truth: a king, bound to higher standards of dharma, should not speak evasively or falsely like an unrefined person.
A speaker confronts the king for claiming ignorance despite knowing the matter, accusing him of speaking shamelessly and beneath royal dignity.