Shloka 38
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
अव्याह्तं व्याहृताच्छेय आहु: सत्य॑ं वदेद् व्याहृतं तद् द्वितीयम् । धर्म वदेद् व्याहृतं तत् तृतीयं प्रियं वदेद् व्याह्ृतं तच्चतुर्थम्
avyāhṛtaṃ vyāhṛtāc chreya āhuḥ; satyaṃ vaded vyāhṛtaṃ tad dvitīyam | dharmaṃ vaded vyāhṛtaṃ tat tṛtīyaṃ; priyaṃ vaded vyāhṛtaṃ tac caturtham ||
ہنس نے کہا—بولنے کے مقابلے میں خاموش رہنا بہتر بتایا گیا ہے۔ اگر بولنا ہی ہو تو سچ بولنا دوسری خوبی ہے۔ دھرم کے مطابق کہنا تیسری۔ اور خوشگوار بات کہنا چوتھی—یوں گفتار کے ضبط کا درجہ وار بیان کیا گیا ہے۔
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a graded discipline of speech: the highest safeguard is silence (not speaking unnecessarily). If one must speak, one should prioritize truth, then dharma-aligned speech, and also ensure speech is pleasing—so that words are restrained, truthful, righteous, and gentle rather than harmful or frivolous.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the Haṃsa delivers moral instruction. Here the speaker lays down a normative hierarchy for how a wise person should handle speech, presenting it as a traditional maxim (“they declare”).