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 ||
“یقیناً اہلِ دانش کے کلام میں تمہارا قول بے مثال ہے؛ مگر ناموزوں وقت پر کہا گیا، اس لیے وہ چمک نہیں پاتا—اسی لیے، اے ہرن، تم دبلا ہو گئے ہو۔”
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.