तं त्वाम् अयशसा स्पृष्टं न ब्रूयां यदि संजय ॥
खरीवात्सल्यम् आहुस् तन् निःसामर्थ्यम् अहेतुकम् ॥
सद्भिर् विगर्हितं मार्गं त्यज मूर्खनिषेवितम् ॥
अविद्या वै महत्य् अस्ति याम् इमां संश्रिताः प्रजाः ॥
तव स्याद् यदि सद्वृत्तं तेन मे त्वं प्रियो भवेः ॥
धर्मार्थगुणयुक्तेन नेतरेण कथं चन ॥
दैवमानुषयुक्तेन सद्भिर् आचरितेन च ॥
यो ह्य् एवम् अविनीतेन रमते पुत्रनप्तृणा ॥
अनुत्थानवता चापि मोघं तस्य प्रजाफलम् ॥
अकुर्वन्तो हि कर्माणि कुर्वन्तो निन्दितानि च ॥
सुखं नैवेह नामुत्र लभन्ते पुरुषाधमाः ॥
taṃ tvām ayaśasā spṛṣṭaṃ na brūyāṃ yadi saṃjaya ||
kharīvātsalyam āhus tan niḥsāmarthyam ahetukam ||
sadbhir vigarhitaṃ mārgaṃ tyaja mūrkhaniṣevitam ||
avidyā vai mahaty asti yām imāṃ saṃśritāḥ prajāḥ ||
tava syād yadi sadvṛttaṃ tena me tvaṃ priyo bhaveḥ ||
dharmārthaguṇayuktena netareṇa kathaṃ cana ||
daivamānuṣayuktena sadbhir ācaritena ca ||
yo hy evam avinītena ramate putranaptṛṇā ||
anutthānavatā cāpi moghaṃ tasya prajāphalam ||
akurvanto hi karmāṇi kurvanto ninditāni ca ||
sukhaṃ naiveha nāmutra labhante puruṣādhamāḥ ||
"If I, O Sanjaya, did not speak to you now that you are touched by disgrace, they would call it asinine tenderness — powerlessness without cause. Abandon the path condemned by the good and followed only by fools. Great indeed is the ignorance to which these people have resorted. If your conduct is good, then it is by that alone that you will be dear to me — conduct joined with dharma, gain, and virtue, in accord with the divine and the human, and practiced by the good and by no other. Whoever delights in an ill-bred, inactive son or grandson finds the fruit of his progeny in vain. The lowest of men, whether doing nothing or doing what is blameworthy, obtain happiness neither here nor in the world beyond."
f0e3458d26e8 · published Jul 17, 2026, 5:59:56 AM UTC
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In this part, Vidura joins harsh kshatriya speech with practical statecraft. She does not merely shame her son, but teaches him to see the impermanence of fortune, to gather allies, to act at the right time, and to turn even enemies into support for restoring the kingdom.