Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 60

कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira

जो लोग अन्यायपूर्वक दूसरोंके धन आदिका अपहरण कर लेना चाहते हैं, वे कभी अपने स्वार्थकी सिद्धिके लिये दूसरोंसे सत्यभाषणरूप धर्मका पालन कराना चाहते हों तो वहाँ उनके समक्ष मौन रहकर उनसे पिण्ड छुड़ानेकी चेष्टा करे, किसी तरह कुछ बोले ही नहीं ।।

avaśyaṃ kūjitabye vā śaṅkerann appakūjataḥ | śreyas tatrānṛtaṃ vaktuṃ tat satyam avicāritam ||

Vāyu-deva nói: Nếu bị buộc phải nói, hoặc nếu im lặng sẽ khiến bọn cướp sinh nghi, thì trong tình thế ấy thà nói điều không thật còn hơn. Trong cơn nguy cấp như vậy, điều không thật ấy nên được chấp nhận—không cần cân nhắc quá mức—như “lời thật” phải nói, vì nó phục vụ mục đích cao hơn: thoát khỏi tai họa và tự bảo toàn trước kẻ xâm hại bất công.

अवश्यंnecessarily, certainly
अवश्यं:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअवश्यम्
कूजितव्येwhen one must speak/utter (lit. in the to-be-spoken situation)
कूजितव्ये:
Adhikarana
TypeVerb
Rootकूजितव्य
FormNeuter, Locative, Singular
वाor
वा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootवा
शङ्केरन्they might suspect
शङ्केरन्:
TypeVerb
Rootशङ्क्
FormOptative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
अप्पकूजतःfrom (one who is) speaking little / from not speaking enough
अप्पकूजतः:
Apadana
TypeAdjective
Rootअल्पकूजत्
FormMasculine/Neuter, Ablative, Singular
श्रेयःbetter, preferable
श्रेयः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootश्रेयस्
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
तत्रthere, in that situation
तत्र:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतत्र
अनृतंfalsehood, untruth
अनृतं:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootअनृत
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
वक्तुंto speak
वक्तुं:
TypeVerb
Rootवच्
FormInfinitive (Tumun)
तत्that
तत्:
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular
सत्यंtruth
सत्यं:
TypeNoun
Rootसत्य
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular
अविचारितम्unexamined, without consideration
अविचारितम्:
TypeAdjective
Rootवि-चर्
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta) with privative a-

वायुदेव उवाच

V
Vāyu-deva (Wind-god)

Educational Q&A

In a crisis involving unjust aggressors, strict truth-telling may be overridden by apaddharma: if silence will arouse suspicion and endanger one, speaking an untruth can be the preferable, dharmically justified course for protection and escape.

Vāyu-deva instructs how to respond when confronted by people intent on wrongful seizure (robbers/aggressors): first try to avoid entanglement through silence, but if speech becomes unavoidable or silence itself becomes dangerous, one may speak a protective untruth.