Shloka 32

Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma

Devanagari script

एतावानेव पुरुषो यदमर्षी यदक्षमी

Transliteration

etāvān eva puruṣo yad amarṣī yad akṣamī

Translation

Vāyu said: “A person is only as much as this—so far as he is resentful, so far as he is intolerant.” In dharma, one’s true stature is measured not by power or rank, but by the strength to restrain anger and endure provocation without losing self-mastery.

Word by Word

• एतावान्: this much; so great (only this much)
• एतावान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतावत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: indeed; only; just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• पुरुषः: man; person
• पुरुषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यत्: namely; that is to say (relative particle here introducing explanation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्

• अमर्षी: intolerant; irascible; not bearing (insult/injury)
• अमर्षी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमर्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यत्: and that; namely (repeating for emphasis/parallelism)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्

• अक्षमी: unable to endure; unforbearing; impatient
• अक्षमी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षमिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Wind-god)
• puruṣa (a person)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person’s moral worth is revealed by their capacity for kṣamā (forbearance). Resentment and intolerance shrink one’s true stature; patience and self-restraint elevate it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu speaks a concise ethical maxim, evaluating human character through the lens of emotional discipline—especially the ability to endure offense without becoming resentful or intolerant.