प्रियवाक्यप्रदानेन सर्वे तुष्यन्ति जन्तवः। तस्मात् तदेव वक्तव्यं वचने का दरिद्रता॥
priyavākyapradānena sarve tuṣyanti jantavaḥ । tasmāt tadeva vaktavyaṁ vacane kā daridratā ॥
Meaning of Priyavākyapradānena Sarve Tuṣyanti
Always speak sweetly as it makes everyone happy. Why be afraid of using sweet words when speech is wholly under one's control and it does not cost anything extra?
Word by word
- प्रियवाक्यप्रदानेनpriyavākyapradānena
by the giving of kind words
प्रिय + वाक्य + प्र + √दा
Compound: priya (dear) + vākya (word) + pradāna (giving).
- सर्वेsarve
all
सर्व
- तुष्यन्तिtuṣyanti
are pleased
√तुष्
- जन्तवःjantavaḥ
living beings
जन्तु, √जन्
- तस्मात्tasmāt
therefore
तद्
- तत् एवtad eva
that alone
तद् + एव
- वक्तव्यम्vaktavyam
should be spoken
√वच्
- वचनेvacane
in speech
वचन
- काkā
what
किम्
- दरिद्रताdaridratā
poverty, stinting
√दरिद्रा
The closing question: why be miserly with words, which cost nothing?
Commentary
Simple yet profound, this shloka addresses the economy of kindness. It asks a rhetorical question: if sweet speech is free and brings universal happiness, why should one be 'stingy' with their words? It emphasizes that our speech is a reflection of our character and is one of the few resources that can be shared infinitely without diminishing our own wealth. The choice of jantavaḥ rather than manuṣyāḥ is deliberate: the verse says all living creatures are gladdened by kind speech, not only people. Its second line is framed as a question rather than an instruction — vacane kā daridratā, what poverty is there in speech? — which is why the verse is usually quoted whole; the argument only lands once the question is asked.
Original Post
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