Shloka 174
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
तदेवमनुसंदृश्य वाच्यावाच्यं परीक्षता | स्त्रीपुंसोी: समवायो<यं त्वया वाच्यो न संसदि
tad evam anusandṛśya vācyāvācyaṁ parīkṣatā | strī-puṁsoḥ samavāyo 'yaṁ tvayā vācyo na saṁsadi ||
ビーシュマは言った。「このように省みて、何を語るべきか、何を語るべきでないかを慎重に吟味したなら、この満座の सभाにおいて、女と男の交わりを語ってはならぬ。そのような話題は公の評議にふさわしくない。言葉を慎むこと自体が、ダルマの一つの姿である。」
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should discriminate between what is fit to say and what is unfit, especially in a public assembly. Even if a matter is true or relevant, topics that violate decorum—here, discussion of sexual union—should be restrained; ethical speech is guided by propriety, context, and the dignity of the forum.
Bhīṣma is instructing his listener during the Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse on dharma. He cautions that in a crowded royal assembly one must avoid certain intimate subjects, emphasizing careful judgment (parīkṣā) of speech according to place and audience.