Shloka 18
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वंशोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Dynastic Counsel on Legitimate Rule
विदुर उवाच देवव्रत निबोधेदं वचनं मम भाषत: । प्रणष्ट: कौरवो वंशस्त्वयायं पुनरुद्धृत:,विदुर बोले--देवव्रतजी! मेरी यह बात सुनिये। यह कौरववंश नष्ट हो चला था, जिसका आपने पुनः उद्धार किया था
vidura uvāca devavrata nibodhedaṁ vacanaṁ mama bhāṣataḥ | praṇaṣṭaḥ kauravo vaṁśas tvayāyaṁ punar uddhṛtaḥ ||
Vidura said: “O Devavrata (Bhīṣma), understand this statement of mine as I speak. The Kaurava lineage had been on the verge of ruin, and it was you who raised it up again.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura reminds Bhīṣma of his decisive moral responsibility: since Bhīṣma once preserved and restored the Kaurava house, he must now act with the same sense of duty to prevent its self-destruction through adharma and reckless conflict.
In Udyoga Parva, as war becomes imminent, Vidura addresses Bhīṣma (Devavrata) directly, beginning a pointed counsel. He frames his appeal by recalling Bhīṣma’s past role in saving the Kaurava lineage, setting the stage for urging corrective action in the present crisis.