Shloka 65

Devanagari script

अथ सुत्याद्ठतं श्रुत्वा तस्य शत्रोर्विचक्षण: । हेतुमद्‌ ग्रहणीयार्थ मार्जारो वाक्यमब्रवीत्‌,अपने उस शत्रुका यह युक्तियुक्त और मान लेने योग्य सुन्दर भाषण सुनकर बुद्धिमान्‌ बिलाव कुछ बोलनेको उद्यत हुआ

Transliteration

atha sūtyād dhṛtaṃ śrutvā tasya śatror vicakṣaṇaḥ | hetumad grahaṇīyārthaṃ mārjāro vākyam abravīt ||

Translation

แล้วเมื่อได้ฟังถ้อยคำของศัตรูซึ่งมีเหตุผลและควรรับไว้ พร้อมทั้งเข้าใจความหมายโดยถ่องแท้ แมวผู้เฉลียวฉลาดก็เตรียมตอบและกล่าวขึ้น

Word by Word

अथthen

सुत्यात्from the Soma-pressing/pressing (rite)

उत्थितम्arisen, produced

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

तस्यof that (one), his

शत्रोःof the enemy

विचक्षणःwise, discerning

हेतुमत्reasoned, well-grounded

ग्रहणीयार्थम्having a meaning fit to be accepted

मार्जारःthe cat

वाक्यम्speech, words

अब्रवीत्said, spoke

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

mārjāra (the cat)

śatru (the enemy, unnamed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should evaluate speech by its reasoning and ethical soundness, not merely by the speaker’s identity; even an enemy’s words can be worthy of acceptance if they are hetumat (rational) and grahaṇīya (fit to be adopted).

What is happening in the narrative?

A discerning cat hears an enemy’s well-argued statement, recognizes its meaningful and acceptable nature, and then begins to reply—signaling a shift from mere hostility to reasoned engagement.