Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17, Verse 15

अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत् । स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्मयं तप उच्यते

anudvegakaraṃ vākyaṃ satyaṃ priyahitaṃ ca yat | svādhyāyābhyasanaṃ caiva vāṅmayaṃ tapa ucyate

Translation

The speech which causes no excitement and is true, as also pleasant and beneficial, and also the practice of sacred recitation, are said to form the austerity of speech.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

anudvegakaram

not, excitement, causes, thus

vākyam

speech

satyam

truthful

priyahitam

pleasant, and, beneficial, and

ca

and

yat

which

svādhyāyābhyasanam

of the study, practice

ca

and

eva

even

vāṅmayam

of speech

tapaḥ

austerity

ucyate

is called

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

"Excitement": pain to living beings. "Pleasant and beneficial": having respectively to do with the seen and the unseen. An invariable combination of all these attributes is here meant: the speech that is true, that causes no excitement, that is agreeable and good, forms the austerity of speech. As for example: "Be tranquil, my son, study the Vedas and practise yoga, and this will do thee good." Practice of sacred recitation: according to ordinances.