If you find one who points out your faults and corrects you, like one revealing a hidden treasure, follow that wise one. Being with such a person is better, not worse.

Nidhīnaṃva pavattāraṃ — like one revealing a hidden treasure: nidhi is buried treasure. One who points out your errors reveals a richness that without their help would remain hidden underground.

Vajjadassinaṃ — who sees errors: having the sharpness and generosity to point out others’ errors is as rare and valuable as buried treasures.

Niggayhavādiṃ medhāviṃ — who speaks correctively with intelligence: the correction that helps, without cruelty. The medhāvī applies practical intelligence to guidance.

The ordinary human instinct is to avoid those who correct us and seek those who praise us. This verse proposes the inversion of that instinct. Honest criticism, received with humility, is the nourishment of growth. Flattery is food empty of nutrients.