Shloka 8
अध्याय ६४ — सभामध्ये क्रोध-निवारणम्
Restraint of wrath in the royal assembly
विदुर! “मैं ही कर्ता-धर्ता हूँ" ऐसा न समझो और हमें प्रतिदिन कड़वी बातें न कहो। मैं अपने हितके सम्बन्धमें तुमसे कोई सलाह नहीं पूछता हूँ। तुम्हारा भला हो। हम तुम्हारी कठोर बातें सहते चले जाते हैं, इसलिये हम क्षमाशीलोंको तुम अपने वचनरूपी बाणोंसे छेदो मत ।। एक: शास्ता न द्वितीयो5स्ति शास्ता गर्भ शयानं पुरुषं शास्ति शास्ता । तेनानुशिष्ट: प्रवणादिवाम्भो यथा नियुक्तोडस्मि तथा भवामि,देखो, इस जगत्का शासन करनेवाला एक ही है, दूसरा नहीं। वही शासक माताके गर्भमें सोये हुए शिशुपर भी शासन करता है; उसीके द्वारा मैं भी अनुशासित हूँ। अतः जैसे जल स्वाभाविक ही नीचेकी ओर जाता है, वैसे ही वह जगन्नियन्ता मुझे जिस काममें लगाता है, मैं वैसे ही उसी काममें लगता हूँ
duryodhana uvāca | vidura! “ahaṃ hi kartā-dhartā asmi” iti mā manyathāḥ, asmān prati dinaṃ kaṭukāni vacanāni mā brūḥ | ahaṃ svahita-sambandhe tvatto na kiñcid upadeśaṃ pṛcchāmi | tava bhadraṃ bhavatu | vayaṃ tava kaṭhorāṇi vacanāni sahāmahe; tasmāt kṣamāśīlān asmān vacana-rūpaiḥ bāṇaiḥ mā viddhi || ekaḥ śāstā na dvitīyo ’sti; śāstā garbha-śayānaṃ puruṣaṃ śāsti śāstā | tenānuśiṣṭaḥ pravaṇād ivāmbho yathā niyukto ’smi tathā bhavāmi ||
Duryodhana said: “Vidura, do not think that I am the sole doer and supporter of all actions, and do not address us day after day with bitter words. I do not seek your counsel regarding my own advantage. May it go well with you. We have been enduring your harsh speech; therefore do not pierce us—who are patient—with arrows made of words. Look: there is only one ruler of this world, not a second. That very Ruler governs even a person lying in the mother’s womb. I too am disciplined by Him; and so, just as water naturally flows downward, I act in the very way that the Controller of the universe appoints me to act.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts ethical counsel with defensive pride: Duryodhana rejects Vidura’s moral advice and shifts responsibility to a single cosmic ‘Ruler,’ implying determinism. Ethically, it highlights how blaming fate can become an excuse to ignore dharma and refuse correction, and it also underscores the power of speech—words can wound like arrows.
In the Kuru court context of Sabha Parva, Vidura repeatedly admonishes Duryodhana for his harmful course. Duryodhana responds irritably, asking Vidura to stop daily rebukes, claiming he does not seek advice about his own interests, and asserting that a supreme controller governs all—including himself—so he acts as appointed, like water flowing downhill.