Shloka 47
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
एकमेवाद्धितीयं तद् यद् राजन् नावबुध्यसे । सत्यं स्वर्गस्यथ सोपानं पारावारस्य नौरिव
ekam evādvitīyaṁ tad yad rājan nāvabudhyase | satyaṁ svargasyātha sopānaṁ pārāvārasya naur iva ||
Vidura tells the king: There is one truth—without a second—that you fail to grasp. Just as a boat alone is the means to cross the ocean to the far shore, so truthfulness alone is the step-ladder to heaven; there is no other.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness (satya) is presented as the sole, unsurpassed means to attain heaven—just as a boat is the essential means to cross an ocean. Vidura stresses that no alternative—status, strategy, or ritual without truth—can replace satya.
In the Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels King Dhṛtarāṣṭra during the tense pre-war negotiations. He admonishes the king for not grasping a basic moral principle: that adherence to truth and righteousness must guide royal decision-making, especially amid looming conflict.