Shloka 2

Adhyāya 115: On Restraint Under Verbal Provocation in the Assembly (सभायां आक्रोश-सहिष्णुता)

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच श्रूयतां पृथिवीपाल यथैषो<र्थोनुगीयते । सदा सुचेता: सहते नरस्येहाल्पमेधस:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca śrūyatāṃ pṛthivīpāla yathaiṣo 'rtho 'nugīyate | sadā su-cetāḥ sahate narasyehālpamedhasaḥ (kaṭhorāṇi vacāṃsi) ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: “Ó protetor da terra (rei), ouve o que, por tradição, se diz sobre este assunto, tal como é narrado. Neste mundo, o homem de mente pura e bem governada suporta continuamente as palavras ásperas de quem tem pouco entendimento—e essa tolerância é sinal de força no dharma.”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'śrūyatām': 'let it be heard

• listen', 'pṛthivīpāla': 'protector of the earth

• king', 'yathā': 'as

• in the manner that', 'eṣaḥ arthaḥ': 'this meaning/matter

• this point', 'anugīyate': 'is sung after

• is traditionally recited/repeated', 'sadā': 'always', 'su-cetāḥ': 'one of good/pure mind

• well-intentioned, self-possessed', 'sahate': 'endures

• tolerates', 'nara': 'man

• person', 'iha': 'here

• in this world', 'alpa-medhasaḥ': 'of little intellect

• foolish, shallow-minded', 'kaṭhora-vacana': 'harsh speech

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• pṛthivīpāla (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person of purified mind shows strength through kṣamā (forbearance): he tolerates the harsh speech of the foolish rather than responding with anger, aligning conduct with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhishma addresses the king and introduces a well-known traditional maxim, teaching how the virtuous should respond to insulting or harsh words in worldly life.