Mahabharata 3.182.6 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 182, Shloka 6
Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya: Tārkṣya’s instruction on tapas, satya, and svadharma
Chapter 182
एवमेव महेष्वास प्रियवाक्यान्महीपते । अहिंसा दृश्यते गुर्वी ततश्च प्रियमिष्यते
evam eva maheṣvāsa priyavākyān mahīpate | ahiṃsā dṛśyate gurvī tataś ca priyam iṣyate ||
“Demikian juga, wahai pemanah agung, wahai raja: dalam sesetengah keadaan, kemuliaan dan beratnya ahimsa—tidak melakukan kekerasan—dilihat sebagai yang utama; namun dalam keadaan lain, tutur kata yang lembut dan menyenangkan dipandang lebih penting daripada ahimsa.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.
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