Shloka 30
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
वृत्तं यत्नेन संरक्षेद् वित्तमेति च याति च | अक्षीणो वित्तत: क्षीणो वृत्ततस्तु हतो हतः
vṛttaṃ yatnena saṃrakṣed vittam eti ca yāti ca | akṣīṇo vittataḥ kṣīṇo vṛttatas tu hato hataḥ ||
Vidura rät: „Man soll die rechte Lebensführung mit Eifer bewahren, denn Reichtum kommt und geht. Wahrhaft gemindert ist niemand bloß, weil sein Vermögen geschwunden ist; wer aber von guter Sitte abgefallen ist, der gilt als wahrhaft zugrunde gegangen.“
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protect moral conduct (vṛtta/sadācāra) with constant effort; wealth is unstable, but character is the true measure of a person—loss of wealth is not real ruin, loss of conduct is.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, Vidura delivers nīti (ethical instruction), emphasizing to the Kuru court that integrity must be safeguarded above material prosperity.