Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 18
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)
उत्थाय चास्मि निष्क्रान्तो यदि मां त्वं महीपते । पृच्छे: क््व यास्यसीत्येवं शपेयं त्वामिति प्रभो
utthāya cāsmi niṣkrānto yadi māṃ tvaṃ mahīpate | pṛccheḥ kva yāsyasīty evaṃ śapeyaṃ tvām iti prabho ||
Wika ni Chyavana: “O hari, nang ako’y tumindig at malapit nang lumabas, kung tinanong mo lamang ako kahit minsan, ‘Saan ka pupunta?’, dahil sa tanong na iyon ay isusumpa na sana kita, O panginoon.”
च्यवन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical necessity of restraint and discernment in speech, especially for rulers: even seemingly ordinary questions can become improper when directed toward a powerful ascetic at an inopportune moment, and disrespect or intrusive curiosity may bring severe consequences.
Chyavana tells the king that when he was getting up to leave, if the king had asked him ‘Where are you going?’, he would have cursed him merely for that act—indicating the tense, cautionary dynamic between royal authority and ascetic spiritual power.