Shloka 11
एतद्धि परम श्रेयो मन्ये5हं तव भारत । दुर्योधनप्रभूतय: पुत्रा राजन् यथा तव,भारत! इन्होंने जो सम्मति दी है, इसीको मैं आपके लिये परम कल्याणकारक मानता हूँ। महाराज! जैसे दुर्योधन आदि आपके पुत्र हैं, वैसे ही पाण्डव भी आपके पुत्र हैं--इसमें संशय नहीं है। इस बातको न जाननेवाले कुछ मन्त्री यदि आपको पाण्डवोंके अहितकी सलाह दें तो यह कहना पड़ेगा कि वे मन्त्रीलोग, आपका कल्याण किस बातमें है, यह विशेषरूपमें नहीं देख पा रहे हैं। राजन! यदि आपके ह्ृदयमें अपने पुत्रोंपर विशेष पक्षपात है तो आपके भीतरके छिपे हुए भावको बाहर सबके सामने प्रकट करनेवाले लोग निश्चय ही आपका भला नहीं कर सकते
etaddhi paramaśreyo manye'haṃ tava bhārata | duryodhanaprabhūtayaḥ putrā rājan yathā tava, tathā pāṇḍavā api putrās tava—nātra saṃśayaḥ |
Vidura said: “O Bharata, I consider this to be the highest good for you. O King, just as Duryodhana and the others are your sons, so too are the Pāṇḍavas your sons—there is no doubt about this. If some ministers, failing to grasp this truth, advise you to harm the Pāṇḍavas, it must be said that they do not clearly perceive where your true welfare lies. And if your heart harbors a special partiality toward your own sons, then those who expose that hidden bias before all cannot truly be acting for your benefit.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that a king’s true welfare (śreyas) lies in impartial dharma: recognizing the Pāṇḍavas as equally his sons and rejecting counsel driven by factional bias. Ministers who urge harm to rightful kin fail in genuine statecraft and moral vision.
In the Adi Parva’s courtly counsel context, Vidura addresses King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, warning him against favoritism toward Duryodhana and against advisers who recommend actions hostile to the Pāṇḍavas, emphasizing that such partiality endangers both family and kingdom.