Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 15

कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve

Devanagari script

निन्दया परविद्यानां स्वविद्यां ख्यापयन्ति च । वागस्त्रा वाकूछरी भूता द्रुग्धविद्याफला इव

Transliteration

nindayā paravidyānāṃ svavidyāṃ khyāpayanti ca | vāg-astrā vāk-ūśarī bhūtā drugdha-vidyā-phalā iva ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಕೆಲವರು ಇತರರ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಂದಿಸಿ ತಮ್ಮ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧಿಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ವಾಕ್ಯವೇ ಅವರ ಅಸ್ತ್ರ; ಅವರ ಮಾತುಗಳು ಬಾಣಗಳಂತೆ ತಿವಿಯುತ್ತವೆ. ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ವಿದ್ಯೆಯ ಫಲವೇ ಹುಳಿಯಾದಂತೆ, ಸತ್ಯತತ್ತ್ವಜ್ಞಾನಕ್ಕೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ಬಂಡಾಯ ಮಾಡಿದವರಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಾರೆ.

Word by Word

• {'nindayā': 'by censure, through blame', 'para-vidyānām': 'of others’ learning/knowledge-systems', 'sva-vidyām': 'one’s own learning', 'khyāpayanti': 'they make known, publicize, advertise', 'ca': 'and', 'vāk': 'speech, word', 'astrā': 'as weapons (astra = weapon)', 'vāg-astrā': 'those whose weapon is speech', 'ūśarī': 'barren, unproductive, harsh/dry (lit. like wasteland)', 'bhūtā': 'having become, being', 'iva': 'as if, like', 'vidyā-phala': 'the fruit/result of learning', 'drugdha': 'spoiled, soured, corrupted (as milk turned bad)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Learning is validated by humility and discernment, not by attacking others. Using speech as a weapon to belittle other traditions or teachers indicates a corrupted ‘fruit of knowledge’—knowledge without wisdom and ethical restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, he critiques a type of pseudo-scholar: one who promotes himself by denigrating others. The verse frames such rhetoric as verbal violence—words functioning like weapons—and as a sign that genuine understanding has not matured.