मतम् आज्ञाय पुत्रस्य धृतराष्ट्रो नराधिपः ॥
मत्वा च दुस्तरं दैवम् एतद् राजा चकार ह ॥
अन्यायेन तथोक्तस् तु विदुरो विदुषां वरः ॥
नाभ्यनन्दद् वचो भ्रातुर् वचनं चेदम् अब्रवीत् ॥
नाभिनन्दामि नृपते प्रैषम् एतं; मैवं कृथाः कुलनाशाद् बिभेमि ॥
पुत्रैर् भिन्नैः कलहस् ते ध्रुवं स्याद्; एतच् छङ्के द्यूतकृते नरेन्द्र ॥
matam ājñāya putrasya dhṛtarāṣṭro narādhipaḥ ||
matvā ca dustaraṃ daivam etad rājā cakāra ha ||
anyāyena tathoktas tu viduro viduṣāṃ varaḥ ||
nābhyanandad vaco bhrātur vacanaṃ cedam abravīt ||
nābhinandāmi nṛpate praiṣam etaṃ; maivaṃ kṛthāḥ kulanāśād bibhemi ||
putrair bhinnaiḥ kalahas te dhruvaṃ syād; etac chaṅke dyūtakṛte narendra ||
Having learned his son's decision and deeming fate insurmountable, King Dhritarashtra did just that. But Vidura, best of the wise, though wrongly summoned to this task, did not approve his brother's words and said: "I do not approve, O king, of this commission; do not do this -- I fear the ruin of our line. When your sons are divided, strife will surely come upon you; that is what I fear -- on account of this game, O lord of men."
a1ed9f48099e · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:36 PM UTC
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Vidura does not stay silent even when he, the wise one, is sent to do an ill deed: he says, "I do not approve." It is telling that a faithful counselor does not become an obedient instrument -- even while carrying out an order, he does not sanction wrongdoing. The verse teaches that obedience to an elder is not the same as consent to evil: one can obey and still bear witness to the truth. Vidura will go, since so he has been commanded, but first he names what is coming by its true name once more -- "the ruin of the family." This is how the duty of an honest man at court shows itself: not to flatter, not to conceal, but to speak the truth to the last possibility, even if unheeded. One who, in carrying out an order, still refuses to bless the evil in it keeps his soul clean even while serving an unrighteous cause.