Shloka 16
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
प्रज्ञासम्भावितो नूनमप्रजञ्जैरुपसंहित: । हीयमानो$सि दुर्वत्तैस्तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
prajñāsambhāvito nūnam aprajñajñair upasaṁhitaḥ | hīyamāno 'si durvṛttais tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—“ನಿನ್ನ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯಿಂದ ನೀನು ಗೌರವಕ್ಕೆ ಯೋಗ್ಯನಾಗಿದ್ದೀಯೆ; ಆದರೂ ನೀನು ವಿವೇಕವಿಲ್ಲದವರ ನಡುವೆ ಸೆರೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದೀಯೆ. ದುರ್ವೃತ್ತರ ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ನೀನು ನಿರಂತರ ಕುಗ್ಗುತ್ತ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀಯೆ; ಆ ಚಿಂತೆಯಿಂದಲೇ ನೀನು ಜಿಂಕೆಯಂತೆ ಕೃಶನಾಗಿ ಬಿಳಿಚಿದ್ದೀಯೆ.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
True worth (prajñā) may be ignored or mocked by the ignorant and the immoral; one should recognize that social contempt can cause inner distress and physical decline, and thus cultivate steadiness rather than being consumed by others’ judgments.
A Brāhmaṇa addresses someone of evident intelligence, observing that despite being deserving of respect, he is ridiculed by the unwise and slighted by the wicked; the speaker explains the person’s deer-like thinness as the result of worry and humiliation.