Shloka 85
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
बह्ललीकमसत्यं चाप्यतिवादाप्रियंवदम् । इमं॑ प्रेक्ष्य पुनर्भावं दुः:खशोकविवर्धनम्
bahllīkam asatyaṃ cāpy ativādāpriyaṃ vadam | imaṃ prekṣya punarbhāvaṃ duḥkhaśokavivardhanam ||
「（人は）欺きに走り、真実を失い、過度で苛烈な言葉に耽って、耳に痛いことばかりを口にする。この苦と悲しみを増すばかりの、繰り返される再生の輪を見れば……」
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Untruth, deceit, and harsh or excessive speech are portrayed as moral degradations that perpetuate saṃsāra by intensifying duḥkha (suffering) and śoka (grief). The verse frames ethical speech and truthfulness as essential for reducing harm and breaking patterns that lead to continued misery.
Jambuka is describing the negative traits and consequences that arise in worldly existence: people become deceitful, untruthful, and speak unpleasantly. He then points to punarbhāva (repeated rebirth) as a condition that, when observed, is recognized as a cause of increasing sorrow and suffering.