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
प्रज्ञासम्भावितो नूनमप्रजञ्जैरुपसंहित: । हीयमानो$सि दुर्वत्तैस्तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
prajñāsambhāvito nūnam aprajñajñair upasaṁhitaḥ | hīyamāno 'si durvṛttais tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
برہمن نے کہا—“یقیناً تم اپنی نکھری ہوئی دانائی کے باعث عزت کے مستحق ہو، مگر تم نادانوں میں گھرے ہوئے ہو۔ بدکرداروں کی تحقیر سے تم مسلسل گھٹتے جاتے ہو؛ اسی فکر نے تمہیں ہرن کی طرح دبلا اور زرد رو کر دیا ہے۔”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
True worth (prajñā) may be ignored or mocked by the ignorant and the immoral; one should recognize that social contempt can cause inner distress and physical decline, and thus cultivate steadiness rather than being consumed by others’ judgments.
A Brāhmaṇa addresses someone of evident intelligence, observing that despite being deserving of respect, he is ridiculed by the unwise and slighted by the wicked; the speaker explains the person’s deer-like thinness as the result of worry and humiliation.