Shloka 26
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 123 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa–Vidura Upadeśa to Duryodhana
Keśava-vākya aftermath
सतां मतमतिक्रम्य योअ्सतां वर्तते मते । शोचन्ते व्यसने तस्य सुहदो नचिरादिव
satāṁ matam atikramya yo 'satāṁ vartate mate | śocante vyasane tasya suhṛdo na cirād iva ||
Vaiśampāyana said: He who oversteps the counsel of the virtuous and instead follows the opinion of the unvirtuous—when calamity befalls him, his well-wishers soon fall into grief, as though the misfortune were their own.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Disregarding the guidance of the virtuous and choosing the counsel of the unvirtuous leads to ruin; such a fall does not harm only the wrongdoer—his true friends and well-wishers also suffer grief quickly, showing the social and moral ripple-effect of adharma.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a reflective, ethical observation within the Udyoga Parva’s atmosphere of counsel and decision-making before war: choices about whose advice to follow determine outcomes, and when a person follows bad counsel, impending disaster causes sorrow even to those who care for him.