Shloka 13
अबालत्वं मन्यसे राजपुत्र बालो5हमित्येव सुमन्दबुद्धे । यः सौहदे पुरुषं स्थापयित्वा पश्चादेनं दूषयते स बाल:,राजकुमार दुर्योधन! तुम्हारी बुद्धि बड़ी मन्द है। तुम अपनेको विद्वान् और मुझे मूर्ख समझते हो। जो किसी पुरुषको सुहृदके पदपर स्थापित करके फिर स्वयं ही उसपर दोषारोपण करता है, वही मूर्ख है
abālatvaṃ manyase rājaputra bālo ’ham ity eva sumandabuddhe | yaḥ sauhade puruṣaṃ sthāpayitvā paścād enaṃ dūṣayate sa bālaḥ ||
Vidura rebuked the prince: “You imagine yourself not childish and think, ‘I am wise and he is a mere boy,’ O dull-witted one. But the true fool is the man who first installs someone in the place of a trusted friend and then, afterward, turns around and maligns him.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not betray or slander a person whom one has oneself accepted and elevated as a trusted friend. Such inconsistency and ingratitude reveal true folly, not wisdom.
Vidura addresses Duryodhana directly, criticizing his self-conceit and condemning his tendency to first treat someone as a close ally and then accuse or defame that same person—an implicit warning about Duryodhana’s unjust conduct toward those around him.