Shloka 1
Tilottamā, Sunda–Upasunda, and the Pāṇḍava Samaya (Ādi Parva 204)
अफत--#क+ चतुर्राधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: विदुरजीकी सम्मति--द्रोण और भीष्मके वचनोंका ही समर्थन विदुर उवाच राजन् निःसंशयं श्रेयो वाच्यस्त्वमसि बान्धवै: । न त्वशुश्रूषमाणे वै वाक््यं सम्प्रतितिष्ठति,विदुरजी बोले--राजन्! आपके (हितैषी) बान्धवोंका यह कर्तव्य है कि वे आपको संदेहरहित हितकी बात बतायें। परंतु आप सुनना नहीं चाहते, इसलिये आपके भीतर उनकी कही हुई हितकी बात भी ठहर नहीं पा रही है
Vidura uvāca—rājan niḥsaṁśayaṁ śreyo vācyas tvam asi bāndhavaiḥ | na tv aśuśrūṣamāṇe vai vākyaṁ sampratitiṣṭhati ||
Vidura said: “O King, your kinsmen and well-wishers are duty-bound to tell you, without hesitation, what is truly for your good. But when you are unwilling to listen, their wholesome counsel finds no footing within you and cannot take root.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Well-wishers must speak what is truly beneficial (śreyas) without fear or doubt, but such counsel bears fruit only when the listener is receptive; refusal to listen prevents good advice from taking root.
Vidura addresses the king, reminding him that relatives and allies are obligated to offer frank, welfare-oriented guidance; he then points out that the king’s unwillingness to hear is the reason that even sound advice fails to influence him.