Shloka 29
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
तेनापि सुह्दा ब्रह्मन् पार्थेनाक्लिष्टकर्मणा । नोक्तपूर्वमिदं वाक््यं यत् त्वं मामभिभाषसे
tenāpi suhṛdā brahman pārthenākliṣṭakarmaṇā | noktapūrvam idaṃ vākyaṃ yat tvaṃ mām abhibhāṣase ||
Ngay cả người bạn thân yêu ấy—Pārtha, kẻ hành động không vướng điều hèn mọn—cũng chưa từng nói lời như thế trước đây. Vậy mà nay ông lại nói với ta những lời ấy, hỡi Brāhmaṇa, như thể một lời buộc tội như vậy là thích đáng.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores ethical restraint in speech: accusations or harsh words should not be lightly directed at someone, especially when even a virtuous friend like Arjuna never spoke so. Moral character (akliṣṭa-karma) is invoked as a standard for what is appropriate to say.
Vaiśampāyana reports a response in which the speaker protests being addressed with a particular statement that had never been said to him even by Arjuna, a trusted friend of impeccable conduct—implying the current addressee’s words are unusually sharp, improper, or unfounded.