Shloka 39
Puruṣaikatva-vyākhyāna: The One Virāṭ Puruṣa and the Many ‘Puruṣas’
Rudra–Brahmā Saṃvāda
एवं तेनापि कौन्तेय वाग्दोषाद् देवताज्ञया । प्राप्ता गतिरथस्तात् तु द्विजशापान्महात्मना,कुन्तीनन्दन! इस प्रकार उस महामनस्वी नरेशने भी देवताओंकी आज्ञासे वाचिक अपराध करनेके कारण ब्राह्मणोंके शापसे अधोगति प्राप्त की थी
evaṁ tenāpi kaunteya vāgdoṣād devatājñayā | prāptā gatir athas tāta tu dvijaśāpān mahātmanā ||
ビーシュマは言った。「クンティの子よ、同じことだ。神々の命により、あの大魂の王は言葉の過ちによって二度生まれし者（婆羅門）たちの呪いを受け、そのために下位の境遇へと堕ちた。ゆえに、たとえ一瞬の口過であっても—とりわけ尊ぶべき者に向けられたなら—人の運命を覆し得るのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that careless or wrongful speech (vāgdoṣa), especially toward venerable persons like brāhmaṇas, can bring severe karmic consequences; words are ethically potent and can determine one’s gati (destiny).
Bhīṣma cites an illustrative precedent: even a great king, acting under a divine ordinance, committed a verbal offence and consequently suffered a brāhmaṇa’s curse leading to a degraded fate—used to warn the listener (Kaunteya) about restraint and respect in speech.