Shloka 41
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
एक: सम्पन्नमश्नाति वस्ते वासश्न॒ शोभनम् | यो5संविभज्य भृत्येभ्य: को नृशंसतरस्तत:,जो अपनेद्वारा भरण-पोषणके योग्य व्यक्तियोंको बाँटे बिना अकेले ही उत्तम भोजन करता और अच्छा वस्त्र पहनता है, उससे बढ़कर क्रूर कौन होगा?
ekaḥ sampannam aśnāti vaste vāsaś ca śobhanam | yo ’saṃvibhajya bhṛtyebhyaḥ ko nṛśaṃsataras tataḥ ||
Vidura says: “If a man, though prosperous, eats fine food and wears splendid clothing all by himself, without sharing with those dependents who are sustained by him, who could be more cruel than he?”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity carries obligation: enjoying food and clothing alone while neglecting one’s dependents is portrayed as the height of cruelty. Dharma requires sharing resources with those whose livelihood rests on you.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers moral counsel (nīti) in the tense lead-up to war, warning against adharma in personal conduct and governance; here he criticizes selfish consumption and urges responsible distribution to dependents.