Shloka 23

अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः

Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind

Devanagari script

न तथा वक्तुमिच्छन्ति कल्याणान्‌ पुरुषे गुणान्‌ | यथैषां वक्तुमिच्छन्ति नैर्गुण्यमनुयुझजका:

Transliteration

na tathā vaktum icchanti kalyāṇān puruṣe guṇān | yathaiṣāṃ vaktum icchanti nairguṇyam anuyujjakāḥ ||

Translation

Người mang lòng đố kỵ không muốn nói về những đức hạnh tốt lành của một người, như cách kẻ bới lỗi lại hăm hở rêu rao sự thiếu công đức của người ấy.

Word by Word

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

• तथा: thus/in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• वक्तुम्: to speak, to describe
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: tumun (infinitive), parasmaipada (by usage)

• इच्छन्ति: they desire/wish
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: Lat (present indicative), 3rd, plural, parasmaipada

• कल्याणान्: auspicious, good
• कल्याणान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्याण
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• पुरुषे: in a man/person
• पुरुषे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• गुणान्: qualities, virtues
• गुणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• यथा: as, in the way that
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• एषाम्: of these (people)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: masculine/neuter (contextual), genitive, plural

• वक्तुम्: to speak, to describe
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: tumun (infinitive), parasmaipada (by usage)

• इच्छन्ति: they desire/wish
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: Lat (present indicative), 3rd, plural, parasmaipada

• नैर्गुण्यम्: faultiness, lack of good qualities
• नैर्गुण्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैर्गुण्य
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• अनुयुजकाः: fault-finders, detractors (those who pursue/press after faults)
• अनुयुजकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुयुजक
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

• हंस (Haṃsa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Envy and fault-finding distort perception: people readily publicize others’ defects but hesitate to acknowledge their virtues. The verse urges ethical restraint in speech and a deliberate commitment to recognize and speak truthfully about goodness.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Haṃsa speaks as a moral instructor, commenting on common human tendencies in social judgment—how detractors prefer to highlight demerits rather than praise noble qualities.