Shloka 34
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
धर्म्यमर्थ्य च काम्यं च काले चाभिटह्तितं वच: । न प्रतीयन्ति ते नूनं तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
dharmyām arthīṃ ca kāmyāṃ ca kāle cābhihitaṃ vacaḥ | na pratīyanti te nūnaṃ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
“Lời ngươi thuận với dharma, có lợi cho phú lợi, hợp với dục vọng chính đáng, lại nói đúng thời; thế nhưng người đời chẳng thật lòng đặt niềm tin vào đó. Bởi vậy, hỡi nai, ngươi trở nên xơ xác, gầy mòn.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even speech that is righteous (dharma-aligned), beneficial (artha-oriented), pleasing (kāma-appropriate), and timely (kāla) may fail if it is not trusted or received; the verse highlights the ethical importance of credibility and the social conditions that allow good counsel to bear fruit.
A Brahmin addresses a deer, observing that the deer’s counsel or utterances are well-formed—righteous, useful, pleasing, and timely—yet others do not accept them; the Brahmin links this lack of acceptance to the deer’s diminished vitality and emaciation.