Shloka 70

उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel

Devanagari script

तस्मान्मौनेन मुनयो दीक्षां कुर्वन्ति चादृता: । दुरुक्तस्य भयाद्‌ राजन्‌ नाभाषन्ते च किंचन

Transliteration

tasmān maunena munayo dīkṣāṃ kurvanti cādṛtāḥ | duruktasya bhayād rājan nābhāṣante ca kiṃcana ||

Translation

Vì thế, tâu đại vương, các bậc hiền triết cung kính thọ nhận lời nguyện bằng sự im lặng. Sợ tai hại phát sinh từ lời nói lỡ lầm, họ không thốt ra điều gì cả.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that (reason)
• तस्मात्: Apadana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• मौनेन: by silence
• मौनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मौन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मुनयः: sages
• मुनयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दीक्षाम्: initiation/vow (dīkṣā)
• दीक्षाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीक्षा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• कुर्वन्ति: do/perform
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आदृताः: being respectful/with reverence
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदृत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दुरुक्तस्य: of harsh/ill speech
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुरुक्त
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• भयात्: from fear
• भयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• आभाषन्ते: speak/utter
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-भाष्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Plural, Atmanepada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• किंचन: anything (at all)
• किंचन: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किंचन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājan (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
• muni (sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Speech can easily become harmful when it is ill-chosen or harsh; therefore sages adopt silence as a disciplined vow, treating restraint of speech as an ethical safeguard and a form of spiritual consecration.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma, explaining why ascetics value mauna (silence): out of reverence for their discipline and fear of the consequences of wrong speech, they refrain from speaking.