Shloka 23
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
नूनमर्थवतां मध्ये तव वाक्यमनुत्तमम् । न भाति काले5भिहितं तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
nūnam arthavatāṁ madhye tava vākyam anuttamam | na bhāti kāle 'bhihitaṁ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
नूनमर्थवतां मध्ये तव वाक्यमनुत्तमम् । न भाति कालेऽभिहितं तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even excellent counsel loses its force if delivered at the wrong time; ethical speech requires not only truth and meaning but also proper timing (kāla) so that it can benefit rather than harm.
A Brahmin addresses a deer, praising the deer’s words as profound yet criticizing their untimely utterance; the speaker links this lack of timely judgment to the deer’s present suffering and emaciation.