Stories from the Hitopadesa: Refrain from Inept Speech

byIndira Rajagopal

The third book of the Hitopadesa is on waging war. In the opening chapter, the author Vishnu Sarma narrates two stories that instruct the princes about the importance of appropriateness in speech. These stories illustrate how one can get into trouble and motivate us to always be mindful of context and watchful of the people we interact with.

Stories from the Hitopadesa: Refrain from Inept Speech

The first story is about giving advice to others. He says: that is, give advice only to those who can comprehend and respect the advice; never advise the foolish or arrogant! Furthermore, for any speech, there is an appropriate context. It is foolish not to pay attention to the context and speak out