Shloka 26
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)
यस्मात् त्रस्यन्ति भूतानि मृगव्याधान्मृगा इव । सागरान्तामपि महीं लब्ध्वा स परिहीयते
yasmāt trasyanti bhūtāni mṛgavyādhān mṛgā iva | sāgarāntām api mahīṁ labdhvā sa parihīyate ||
قال فيدورا: من ترتعد منه جميع الكائنات وتهرب—كما تهرب الظباء من الصيّاد—يُهجره رعيته، ولو نال سلطان الأرض كلّها إلى حدود البحر. فالتحذير الأخلاقي بيّن: الحكم القائم على الرعب يهدم الشرعية ويدعو إلى الهجران مهما اتّسعت المملكة.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler who governs through fear becomes detestable and unstable; even the greatest territorial power cannot secure loyalty if subjects live in terror. True kingship rests on protection, justice, and trust rather than intimidation.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel and negotiations before the great war, Vidura delivers moral-political instruction (nīti) to warn against oppressive conduct. He uses the vivid simile of deer fleeing a hunter to describe how people naturally withdraw from a fear-inducing ruler, ultimately abandoning him despite his vast dominion.