Shloka 28
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
भूलिड्शशकुनिर्नाम पाश्वे हिमवतः परे । भीष्म तस्या: सदा वाच: श्रूयन्ते<र्थविगर्हिता:
bhūliṅgaśakuniḥ nāma pārśve himavataḥ pare | bhīṣma tasyāḥ sadā vācaḥ śrūyante ’rthavigarhitāḥ ||
भूलिङ्गशकुनिर्नाम हिमवतः परे पाश्वे। भीष्म! तस्याः सदा वाचः श्रूयन्तेऽर्थविगर्हिताः॥
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against speech whose meaning is ethically censurable—words that contradict right conduct. It implies that constant, ill-meaning speech is a mark of blame and should not be emulated in a dharmic assembly.
In the royal assembly context, Śiśupāla addresses Bhīṣma and introduces a proverbial example: a bird beyond the Himālaya whose speech is always reprehensible in meaning. He uses this image as a rhetorical device within his critique in the Sabha.