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 ||
ಕೌಂತೇಯ! ಇದೇ ರೀತಿಯಾಗಿ ಆ ಮಹಾತ್ಮನಾದ ರಾಜನು ಕೂಡ ದೇವತೆಗಳ ಆಜ್ಞೆಯಿಂದ ವಾಗ್ದೋಷದ ಕಾರಣ ದ್ವಿಜರ (ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರ) ಶಾಪದಿಂದ ಅಧೋಗತಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆದನು.
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.