Shloka 6
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 40 — Vidura’s Ethical Counsel and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fatalistic Turn
ब्राह्मीं हि योनिमापन्न: सुगुह्ममपि यो वदेत् । न तेन गह्टों देवानां तस्मादेतद् ब्रवीमि ते
brāhmīṁ hi yonim āpannaḥ suguhyam api yo vadet | na tena garhyo devānāṁ tasmād etad bravīmi te ||
قال فيدورا: «إنّ من وُلِد في سلالة البراهمة، وإن نطق بحقيقةٍ بالغةِ السِّرّ، لا يصير بذلك موضعَ لومٍ في أعين الآلهة. فلذلك، ومن أجل هذا السبب، أقول لك هذا.»
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A qualified, dharmic speaker—here characterized as one of Brahmin birth—may disclose even a confidential truth when it serves righteousness; such truthful counsel is not condemned by the gods. Vidura uses this to justify offering frank, potentially sensitive instruction.
Vidura is in the role of moral counselor in the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations. He prefaces his advice by stating that revealing a ‘secret’ principle is permissible for a rightful teacher, and on that basis he proceeds to speak openly to his listener.