Shloka 112

Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition

Devanagari script

न वैरमुद्दीपयति प्रशान्तं न दर्पमारोहति नास्तमेति । न दुर्गतो5स्मीति करोत्यकार्य तमार्यशीलं परमाहुरार्या:,जो शान्त हुई वैरकी आगको फिर प्रज्वलित नहीं करता, गर्व नहीं करता, हीनता नहीं दिखाता तथा “मैं विपत्तिमें पड़ा हूँ” ऐसा सोचकर अनुचित काम नहीं करता, उस उत्तम आचरणवाले पुरुषको आर्यजन सर्वश्रेष्ठ कहते हैं

Transliteration

na vairam uddīpayati praśāntaṃ na darpam ārohati nāstam eti | na durgato 'smīti karoty akāryaṃ tam āryaśīlaṃ param āhur āryāḥ ||

Translation

Vidura says: The truly noble person does not rekindle a feud once it has been calmed; he does not climb into arrogance, nor does he sink into dejection. Even when he thinks, “I have fallen into distress,” he does not commit what is improper. Such a man, whose conduct is truly Aryan, is declared by the wise to be the best among the noble.

Word by Word

• {'vairam': 'enmity, feud', 'uddīpayati': 'rekindles, inflames, kindles up', 'praśāntam': 'pacified, calmed, settled', 'darpam': 'pride, arrogance', 'ārohati': 'mounts, ascends, takes up', 'nāstam eti': 'does not go down

• does not fall into decline/dejection', 'durgataḥ': 'in misfortune, in distress, in a bad condition', 'asmi iti': 'thinking ‘I am’ (i.e., ‘I am in such a state’)', 'karoti': 'does, commits', 'akāryam': 'what ought not to be done

• improper act', 'āryaśīlam': 'of noble conduct

• possessing Aryan virtues', 'param': 'supreme, best', 'āhuḥ': 'they say, they declare', 'āryāḥ': 'the noble/wise people'}

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A noble person practices restraint: he does not revive settled hostility, avoids pride and despair, and refuses to justify wrongdoing even under hardship. True excellence is measured by steady ethical conduct, especially in adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel on righteous conduct (nīti) amid rising tensions before the Kurukṣetra war. This verse defines the marks of an ‘ārya’—one who remains ethically steady and does not let conflict or misfortune drive him into arrogance, despondency, or improper acts.