Shloka 32
शर्मिष्ठया यदुक्तास्मि दुह्तित्रा वृषपर्वण: । सत्यं किलैतत् सा प्राह दैत्यानामसि गायन:,वृषपर्वाकी पुत्री शर्मिष्ठाने आज मुझसे जो कुछ कहा है, क्या यह सच है? वह कहती है --आप भाटोंकी तरह दैत्योंके गुण गाया करते हैं
śarmiṣṭhayā yad uktāsmi duhitṛā vṛṣaparvaṇaḥ | satyaṃ kilaitat sā prāha daityānām asi gāyanaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “What I have been told by Śarmiṣṭhā, the daughter of Vṛṣaparvan— is it really true? She says, ‘You are like a bard, singing the praises of the Daityas.’” The line conveys a pointed moral tension: speech can be used either to uphold truth and fairness or to flatter a side out of bias, and Śarmiṣṭhā’s remark accuses the listener of partiality rather than principled judgment.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical concern about speech and judgment: praising a group like a professional panegyrist can indicate bias. It implicitly values truthful, impartial assessment over flattering rhetoric.
Vaiśampāyana reports a pointed statement attributed to Śarmiṣṭhā, daughter of Vṛṣaparvan. She challenges someone’s stance by accusing them of acting like a bard who sings the Daityas’ praises, and the speaker asks whether this report is true.