Shloka 43
उद्योगपर्व — विदुरनीतिः (Adhyāya 37): आयुःक्षयहेतवः, नीतिसूत्राणि, बलभेदाः, पाण्डव-विग्रहदोषदर्शनम्
यत्र स्त्री यत्र कितवो बालो यत्रानुशासिता । मज्जन्ति तेडवशा राजन् नद्यामश्मप्लवा इव
yatra strī yatra kitavo bālo yatrānuśāsitā | majjanti te'vaśā rājan nadyām aśmaplavā iva ||
রাজন! যেখানে শাসন নারীর, জুয়াড়ির ও শিশুর হাতে থাকে, সেখানে প্রজারা নদীতে পাথরের নৌকায় বসা মানুষের মতো অসহায় হয়ে বিপদে ডুবে যায়।
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Governance must rest on mature discernment and self-control; when power is effectively driven by immaturity or vice (symbolized by a child and a gambler) or by improper influence, society becomes helpless and collapses—like trusting a stone boat that cannot float.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels the king during the tense pre-war negotiations. He delivers moral-political instruction (nīti), warning that a kingdom misruled by unfit or destabilizing influences will inevitably plunge its people into disaster.