Shloka 57
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
द्वावेव न विराजेते विपरीतेन कर्मणा । गृहस्थश्व निरारम्भ: कार्यवांश्वैव भिक्षुक:
dvāv eva na virājete viparītena karmaṇā | gṛhasthaś ca nirārambhaḥ kāryavāṁś caiva bhikṣukaḥ ||
Vidura sprach: „Nur zwei vermögen nicht zu glänzen, wenn sie wider ihre eigene Pflicht handeln: der Haushälter, der keine fruchtbare Arbeit aufnimmt, und der Bettelmönch, der sich in weltlichen Aufgaben verliert. Indem sie ihre Rollen verkehren, büßen beide Würde und moralische Klarheit ein, die ihr Stand eigentlich nähren soll.“
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dignity and moral effectiveness arise when one performs the duties appropriate to one’s station: the householder should responsibly initiate and sustain productive work, while the mendicant should remain free from worldly busyness. Reversing these roles undermines both.
In Vidura’s counsel (Vidura-nīti) during the Udyoga Parva, he instructs the Kuru court on ethical governance and personal conduct. Here he highlights how social and spiritual roles lose their value when their defining disciplines are abandoned.