अक्रोधनः क्रोधनेभ्यो विशिष्टस् ।
तथा तितिक्षुर् अतितिक्षोर् विशिष्टः ॥
अमानुषेभ्यो मानुषाश् च प्रधाना ।
विद्वांस् तथैवाविदुषः प्रधानः ॥
आक्रुश्यमानो नाक्रोशेन् मन्युर् एव तितिक्षतः ॥
आक्रोष्टारं निर्दहति सुकृतं चास्य विन्दति ॥
नारुंतुदः स्यान् न नृशंसवादी ।
न हीनतः परम् अभ्याददीत ॥
ययास्य वाचा पर उद्विजेत ।
न तां वदेद् रुशतीं पापलोक्याम् ॥
अरुंतुदं पुरुषं रूक्षवाचं ।
वाक्कण्टकैर् वितुदन्तं मनुष्यान् ॥
विद्याद् अलक्ष्मीकतमं जनानां ।
मुखे निबद्धां निरृतिं वहन्तम् ॥
सद्भिः पुरस्ताद् अभिपूजितः स्यात् ।
सद्भिस् तथा पृष्ठतो रक्षितः स्यात् ॥
सदासताम् अतिवादांस् तितिक्षेत् ।
सतां वृत्तं चाददीतार्यवृत्तः ॥
वाक्सायका वदनान् निष्पतन्ति ।
यैर् आहतः शोचति रात्र्यहानि ॥
परस्य वा मर्मसु ये पतन्ति ।
तान् पण्डितो नावसृजेत् परेषु ॥
न हीदृशं संवननं त्रिषु लोकेषु विद्यते ॥
यथा मैत्री च भूतेषु दानं च मधुरा च वाक् ॥
तस्मात् सान्त्वं सदा वाच्यं न वाच्यं परुषं क्व चित् ॥
पूज्यान् संपूजयेद् दद्यान् न च याचेत् कदा चन ॥
akrodhanaḥ krodhanebhyo viśiṣṭas |
tathā titikṣur atitikṣor viśiṣṭaḥ ||
amānuṣebhyo mānuṣāś ca pradhānā |
vidvāṃs tathaivāviduṣaḥ pradhānaḥ ||
ākruśyamāno nākrośen manyur eva titikṣataḥ ||
ākroṣṭāraṃ nirdahati sukṛtaṃ cāsya vindati ||
nāruṃtudaḥ syān na nṛśaṃsavādī |
na hīnataḥ param abhyādadīta ||
yayāsya vācā para udvijeta |
na tāṃ vaded ruśatīṃ pāpalokyām ||
aruṃtudaṃ puruṣaṃ rūkṣavācaṃ |
vākkaṇṭakair vitudantaṃ manuṣyān ||
vidyād alakṣmīkatamaṃ janānāṃ |
mukhe nibaddhāṃ nirṛtiṃ vahantam ||
sadbhiḥ purastād abhipūjitaḥ syāt |
sadbhis tathā pṛṣṭhato rakṣitaḥ syāt ||
sadāsatām ativādāṃs titikṣet |
satāṃ vṛttaṃ cādadītāryavṛttaḥ ||
vāksāyakā vadanān niṣpatanti |
yair āhataḥ śocati rātryahāni ||
parasya vā marmasu ye patanti |
tān paṇḍito nāvasṛjet pareṣu ||
na hīdṛśaṃ saṃvananaṃ triṣu lokeṣu vidyate ||
yathā maitrī ca bhūteṣu dānaṃ ca madhurā ca vāk ||
tasmāt sāntvaṃ sadā vācyaṃ na vācyaṃ paruṣaṃ kva cit ||
pūjyān saṃpūjayed dadyān na ca yācet kadā cana ||
'The wrathless is superior to the wrathful; the forbearing is superior to the unforbearing; humans are superior to non-humans, and the learned is superior to the unlearned. Let one who is reviled not revile in return; the restrained wrath of the forbearing man burns the reviler himself and takes away his merit. Let him not be one who wounds to the quick, nor cruel of speech; let him not put another down with base words; let him not utter that harsh speech, leading to evil worlds, at which another would shudder. Know the harsh-speaking man, who wounds people with the thorns of his words, wounding to the quick, as the most ill-fated of men, bearing in his mouth a bound Nirriti [destruction]. Let a man of noble conduct be honored by the good before him and guarded by the good behind him; let him endure the excessive words of both the good and the wicked alike, and adopt the ways of the good. Word-arrows fly forth from the mouth; one struck by them grieves day and night; those arrows that strike at another's vital points — the wise man should never loose them upon others. In the three worlds there is no means of winning hearts like friendliness toward all beings, giving, and sweet speech. Therefore one should always speak gently, and never speak harshly; let him honor those worthy of honor, let him give, and never himself beg.'
8596571b969a · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:06:49 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here Yayati proclaims a beautiful teaching on gentle speech and freedom from anger — one of the gems of the epic's moral wisdom. Striking is the image of 'word-arrows': a harsh word wounds deeper than an arrow, and the one struck by it 'grieves day and night.' This is a high regard for nonviolence in speech (vachika-ahimsa): not only action but speech itself can be violence, and the harsh-speaking man is 'the most ill-fated, bearing destruction in his mouth.' Notable too is the teaching on forbearance: 'the restrained wrath of the forbearing man burns the reviler and takes away his merit' — meaning that gentleness is not weakness but spiritual strength, turning the offender's own evil back against him. Beautiful, too, is the threefold 'means of winning hearts': friendliness toward all beings (maitri), giving (dana), and sweet speech (madhura vak). Here is the foundation of good relations and devoted service: love, generosity, and kind words conquer hearts more surely than any force. And the instruction is crowned by: 'speak gently, honor those worthy of honor, give, but never beg' — an image of royal and righteous dignity that never stoops to begging, yet remains generous and gentle. Thus Yayati hands down to his son not only a kingdom, but the dharma of the heart.