Shloka 33
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
मूढानामवलिप्तानामसारं भाषितं बहु । दर्शयत्यन्तरात्मानमग्निरूपमिवांशुमान्
mūḍhānām avaliptānām asāraṃ bhāṣitaṃ bahu | darśayaty antarātmānam agnirūpam ivāṃśumān ||
ନାରଦ କହିଲେ—ମୂଢ ଓ ଅହଂକାରୀମାନଙ୍କର ଅନେକ ଅସାର କଥା ତାଙ୍କର ଅନ୍ତରାତ୍ମାକୁ ହିଁ ପ୍ରକାଶ କରେ; ଯେପରି ଦୀପ୍ତିମାନ ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟକାନ୍ତମଣିର ସଂଯୋଗରେ ନିଜ ଦାହକ ଅଗ୍ନିରୂପକୁ ପ୍ରକଟ କରେ।
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worthless, pride-driven talk is self-exposing: it reveals the speaker’s inner state (antarātman). Ethical speech is therefore a discipline of character—one’s words inevitably disclose one’s discernment, humility, and purity (or their absence).
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Nārada delivers a moral observation: the foolish and arrogant may speak at length, but their verbosity only manifests their inner defects. He illustrates this with a natural-philosophical simile: the sun’s latent burning power becomes evident when it ignites fire through a sunstone.