अनुप्रियं चेद् अनुकाङ्क्षसे त्वं; सर्वेषु कार्येषु हिताहितेषु ॥
स्त्रियश् च राजञ् जडपङ्गुकांश् च; पृच्छ त्वं वै तादृशांश् चैव मूढान् ॥
लभ्यः खलु प्रातिपीय नरो ऽनुप्रियवाग् इह ॥
अप्रियस्य तु पथ्यस्य वक्ता श्रोता च दुर्लभः ॥
यस् तु धर्मे पराश्वस्य हित्वा भर्तुः प्रियाप्रिये ॥
अप्रियाण्य् आह पथ्यानि तेन राजा सहायवान् ॥
anupriyaṃ ced anukāṅkṣase tvaṃ; sarveṣu kāryeṣu hitāhiteṣu ||
striyaś ca rājañ jaḍapaṅgukāṃś ca; pṛccha tvaṃ vai tādṛśāṃś caiva mūḍhān ||
labhyaḥ khalu prātipīya naro 'nupriyavāg iha ||
apriyasya tu pathyasya vaktā śrotā ca durlabhaḥ ||
yas tu dharme parāśvasya hitvā bhartuḥ priyāpriye ||
apriyāṇy āha pathyāni tena rājā sahāyavān ||
[Vidura:] "If in all matters, good and bad alike, you desire only what is pleasant, then ask, O king, women, the dull-witted, the crippled, and fools like them. A man of pleasant speech, O son of Pratipa, is easily found here; but one who speaks the unpleasant-yet-wholesome — and one who listens to him — is rare. But it is in the one who, trusting in dharma and setting aside what pleases or displeases his lord, speaks what is unpleasant but wholesome, that the king has a true helper."
8b294bd80df2 · publicado 16 jul 2026, 16:03:37 UTC
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Vidura states the golden rule about counselors: flatterers are many, speakers of bitter benefit are few. It is telling that he measures a counselor's worth by his readiness to say what displeases: the true helper keeps before his eyes not pleasing but dharma and the good. The verse teaches us to distinguish a friend from a hanger-on: the first speaks what is useful, risking displeasure; the second speaks what is pleasant, currying favor. And "one who listens to bitter truth is rare" points to a rarity on both sides: it is hard not only to speak the truth but also to receive it. Whoever surrounds himself with nothing but pleasant speakers is left without help in disaster; it is the good fortune of a king to have even one man who dares to grieve him for the sake of his salvation.