Mahabharata 3.182.6 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 182, Shloka 6

Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya: Tārkṣya’s instruction on tapas, satya, and svadharma

Chapter 182

Devanagari script

एवमेव महेष्वास प्रियवाक्यान्महीपते । अहिंसा दृश्यते गुर्वी ततश्च प्रियमिष्यते

Transliteration

evam eva maheṣvāsa priyavākyān mahīpate | ahiṃsā dṛśyate gurvī tataś ca priyam iṣyate ||

Translation

അതുപോലെ, മഹേഷ്വാസനായ രാജാവേ! ചില സാഹചര്യങ്ങളിൽ പ്രിയവചനത്തേക്കാൾ അഹിംസയുടെ ഗൗരവം മേലായി കാണപ്പെടുന്നു; മറ്റുചിലിടങ്ങളിൽ അഹിംസയെക്കാൾ പോലും പ്രിയഭാഷണത്തിന്റെ മഹത്ത്വം ഉയർന്നതായി കരുതപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• महेष्वास: O great archer
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेष्वास
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्रियवाक्यात्: from/than pleasing speech
• प्रियवाक्यात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रियवाक्य
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• महीपते: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपतिः
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अहिंसा: non-violence
• अहिंसा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहिंसा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• दृश्यते: is seen/appears
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Singular

• गुर्वी: weightier, more important
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुरु
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: thereafter; than that
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• प्रियम्: what is pleasing; pleasing speech/act
• प्रियम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इष्यते: is desired/approved
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Singular

Speaker

सर्प उवाच

Characters & Entities

• सर्प (serpent, speaker)
• महेष्वास (great archer)
• महीपति (king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ethical priorities can be context-sensitive: sometimes ahiṃsā (non-harm) is the highest value, while in other contexts priyavākya (kind, pleasing speech) is treated as even more crucial for dharma and social harmony.

What is happening in the narrative?

The serpent addresses a warrior-king (‘great archer’, ‘king’) and offers a reflective maxim: different situations reveal different dharmic emphases—either the supremacy of non-violence or the superior importance of gentle speech.