मा नो ऽवमंस्था विद्म मनस् तवेदं; शिक्षस्व बुद्धिं स्थविराणां सकाशात् ॥
यशो रक्षस्व विदुर संप्रणीतं; मा व्यापृतः परकार्येषु भूस् त्वम् ॥
अहं कर्तेति विदुर मावमंस्था; मा नो नित्यं परुषाणीह वोचः ॥
न त्वां पृच्छामि विदुर यद् धितं मे; स्वस्ति क्षत्तर् मा तितिक्षून् क्षिणु त्वम् ॥
एकः शास्ता न द्वितीयो ऽस्ति शास्ता; गर्भे शयानं पुरुषं शास्ति शास्ता ॥
तेनानुशिष्टः प्रवणाद् इवाम्भो; यथा नियुक्तो ऽस्मि तथा वहामि ॥
mā no 'vamaṃsthā vidma manas tavedaṃ; śikṣasva buddhiṃ sthavirāṇāṃ sakāśāt ||
yaśo rakṣasva vidura saṃpraṇītaṃ; mā vyāpṛtaḥ parakāryeṣu bhūs tvam ||
ahaṃ karteti vidura māvamaṃsthā; mā no nityaṃ paruṣāṇīha vocaḥ ||
na tvāṃ pṛcchāmi vidura yad dhitaṃ me; svasti kṣattar mā titikṣūn kṣiṇu tvam ||
ekaḥ śāstā na dvitīyo 'sti śāstā; garbhe śayānaṃ puruṣaṃ śāsti śāstā ||
tenānuśiṣṭaḥ pravaṇād ivāmbho; yathā niyukto 'smi tathā vahāmi ||
[Duryodhana:] "Do not despise us — we know this mind of yours; learn wisdom from elders; guard the fame you have won, Vidura; do not meddle in others' affairs. Do not think, Vidura, 'I am the doer' and so despise us; do not always speak harsh words to us; I am not asking you what is good for me; fare well, Kshattri, do not wear out the patient. There is one Ruler, and no second; He instructs a man while he still lies in the womb; instructed by Him, like water down a slope, I flow as I am appointed."
66e92801ee79 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:37 PM UTC
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Duryodhana screens his own willfulness behind the doctrine of the one Ruler: "I flow as I am appointed." This blasphemous perversion of the truth is telling — the teaching of divine guidance is turned into an excuse for sin: "it is not I who act, but so it is ordained." The verse teaches us to distinguish true surrender to the Lord from a cunning appeal to Him: one who is truly surrendered does what is right, entrusting the fruit to the Lord; the cunning man does what is wrong, laying the blame on "appointment." And "I do not ask what is good for me" is a rejection of the good itself: whoever drives away the one who counsels his benefit is his own enemy. To screen willfulness behind God's name is among the gravest of abuses — it makes the Supreme an accomplice in a sin that a single evil will alone commits.