Shloka 40
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
शुकेन ख्यापितो विप्र तं देवा: समुपाद्रवन् । शशाप शुकममग्निस्तु वाग्विहीनो भविष्यसि
śukena khyāpito vipra taṃ devāḥ samupādravan | śaśāpa śukam agnis tu vāg-vihīno bhaviṣyasi ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Này bà-la-môn, khi Śuka loan báo việc ấy, các thần liền xông đến trong cơn xao động. Rồi Agni nguyền rủa Śuka: ‘Ngươi sẽ bị tước mất lời nói.’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech has moral weight: revealing or proclaiming a matter can trigger powerful reactions and consequences. The verse highlights accountability for words and the idea that divine forces may enforce restraint through punishment, symbolized by the loss of speech.
Śuka discloses something significant; the gods, disturbed, converge upon him. Agni then pronounces a curse that Śuka will become speechless, marking a turning point where speech itself becomes the object of consequence.