Shloka 32
युधिछिर उवाच गृहादग्निश्च बोद्धव्य इति मां विदुरोडब्रवीत् । पन्थाश्च वो नाविदित: कश्रित् स्यादिति धर्मधी:,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--माँ! जिनकी बुद्धि सदा धर्ममें ही लगी रहती है, उन विदुरजीने (सांकेतिक भाषामें) मुझसे कहा था, “तुम जिस घरमें ठहरोगे, वहाँसे आगका भय है, यह बात अच्छी तरह जान लेनी चाहिये। साथ ही वहाँका कोई भी मार्ग ऐसा न हो, जो तुमसे अपरिचित रहे
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | gṛhād agniś ca boddhavya iti māṃ viduro 'bravīt | panthāś ca vo nāviditaḥ kaścit syād iti dharmadhīḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Vidura, whose understanding is firmly grounded in dharma, warned me in veiled words: ‘Know well that the house where you stay carries the danger of fire. And let there be no route there that is unknown to you.’”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one is committed to dharma, one must exercise vigilant prudence: recognize hidden dangers in seemingly safe places and ensure practical preparedness (such as knowing escape routes). Righteousness is not naïveté; it is guided by wise counsel and alertness.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls Vidura’s indirect warning that the lodging arranged for them is threatened by fire and that they must know every route in and out. This points to a covert plot against the Pāṇḍavas and Vidura’s attempt to protect them without openly revealing the conspiracy.