Shloka 33
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 148: Vāsudeva’s Report—Mobilization and the Nīti Sequence
Sāma–Bheda–Daṇḍa
स सत्यसंध: स तथाप्रमत्त: शास्त्रे स्थितो बन्धुजनस्य साधु: । प्रिय: प्रजानां सुह्ददानुकम्पी जितेन्द्रिय:ः साधुजनस्य भर्ता
sa satyasaṃdhaḥ sa tathāpramattaḥ śāstre sthito bandhujanasya sādhuḥ | priyaḥ prajānāṃ suhṛd-dānukampī jitendriyaḥ sādhujanasya bhartā ||
Vāyu said: “He is steadfast in truth and equally free from negligence. He stands firm in the injunctions of the śāstras and is benevolent toward his kinsmen. He is dearly loved by the people; compassionate and generous to his friends; self-controlled; and a protector and sustainer of the virtuous.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal of dharmic leadership: unwavering truthfulness, vigilance (freedom from negligence), obedience to śāstric norms, kindness to kin, love of the people, generosity and compassion toward friends, mastery over the senses, and active protection of the virtuous.
In Udyoga Parva, as tensions move toward war, Vāyu speaks in praise of Yudhiṣṭhira’s character, highlighting his ethical fitness to rule and his reputation among subjects and good people—an affirmation of his dharmic stature amid political crisis.