Shloka 25

अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः

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

Devanagari script

आक्रोशनविमानाभ्यां नाबुधान्‌ बोधयेद्‌ बुध: । तस्मान्न वर्धयेदन्यं न चात्मानं विहिंसयेत्‌

Transliteration

ākrośanavimānābhyāṃ nābudhān bodhayet budhaḥ | tasmān na vardhayed anyaṃ na cātmānaṃ vihiṃsayet |

Translation

Bậc trí không nên cố dạy kẻ ngu bằng cách vạch lỗi họ khi họ đã dùng lời mắng nhiếc và sỉ nhục. Vì vậy, chớ khuyến khích hạng người ấy thêm nữa, cũng chớ đáp trả bằng những lời tố cáo để tự chuốc lấy tổn hại.

Word by Word

• {'ākrośana': 'abuse, harsh reviling speech', 'vimāna': 'insult, contempt, humiliation', 'ābhyām': 'by/through the two (instrumental dual)', 'na': 'not', 'abudhān': 'the unwise, those lacking understanding', 'bodhayet': 'should awaken/instruct, should make understand', 'budhaḥ': 'a wise person, the discerning', 'tasmāt': 'therefore, for that reason', 'vardhayet': 'should increase, should encourage, should amplify', 'anyam': 'another (person), the other', 'ca': 'and', 'ātmānam': 'oneself', 'vihiṃsayet': 'should injure/harm, should cause violence to'}

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

• haṃsa (speaker)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not attempt to reform the ignorant when they are in a mode of abuse and contempt; engaging them only escalates conflict. Instead, avoid fueling their behavior and protect your own integrity by not retaliating in ways that lead to self-harm (ethical, mental, or social).

What is happening in the narrative?

Haṃsa is delivering a didactic instruction in the Śānti Parva’s discourse on right conduct: he advises a wise listener on how to respond to provocation—by refusing to enter a cycle of insult and counter-insult, and by not empowering the aggressor through attention or escalation.