Shloka 31
Sanatsujāta-Āhvāna (Summoning Sanatsujāta) — Vidura’s Invocation and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Doubt
यत्राकथयमानस्य प्रयच्छत्यशिवं भयम् | अतिरिक्तमिवाकुर्वन् स श्रेयान् नेतरो जन:
yatrākathayamānasya prayacchaty aśivaṃ bhayam | atiriktam ivākurvan sa śreyān netaro janaḥ ||
Doch selbst dort, wo Schweigen und das Nichtsprechen über sich selbst Furcht und Unheil heraufbeschwören, ist der bessere Mensch derjenige, der keinen Anschein von Überlegenheit annimmt—der sich nicht als „etwas Besonderes obendrein“ zur Schau stellt; nicht der andere.
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when silence could lead to danger or inauspicious consequences, the truly noble person avoids self-aggrandizement. Excellence is shown through restraint and integrity, not through proclaiming one’s greatness.
Sanatsujata is instructing on ethical conduct and inner virtue. In this verse he contrasts the superior person—who does not advertise his own greatness—with the inferior type who seeks to assert superiority, emphasizing humility as a mark of true excellence.