17.15 Austerity of speech Krishna speaks
अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत्
स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते
anudvega-karaṁ vākyaṁ satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ cha yat
svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ chaiva vāṅ-mayaṁ tapa uchyate
Speech that causes no distress, that is true, kindly and beneficial, and the practice of study, is austerity of speech.
Explanation
Austerity of speech, with four conditions.
- causing no distress
- true
- kindly
- beneficial
All four at once, which is much harder than any one of them. True and unkind is ruled out; kind and untrue is ruled out. The demanding part is that the list has no exemption for being right.
Word by word
- anudvega-karam
- not causing distress
- vākyam
- words
- satyam
- truthful
- priya- hitam
- beneficial
- cha
- and
- yat
- which
- svādhyāya-abhyasanam
- recitation of the Vedic scriptures
- cha eva
- as well as
- vāṅ-mayam
- of speech
- tapaḥ
- austerity
- uchyate
- are declared as
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