Shloka 21
अहो भवत्या मन्त्रस्य गूहनेन वयं हता:
aho bhavatyā mantrasya gūhanena vayaṁ hatāḥ
Alas! By your concealment of the sacred counsel, we have been ruined. The speaker laments that withholding a crucial mantra—guidance meant to protect and direct—has led to their downfall, underscoring the ethical weight of timely truth and responsible communication in moments of crisis.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral burden of withholding vital counsel: secrecy can become culpable when it prevents protection, right action, or timely remedy, leading to collective harm.
In the lament-filled context of the Strī Parva, the narrator reports a reproach: someone addresses a woman, blaming their destruction on her having concealed an important mantra or counsel.