Shloka 49
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
क्षमाशील पुरुषोंमें एक ही दोषका आरोप होता है, दूसरेकी तो सम्भावना ही नहीं है। वह दोष यह है कि क्षमाशील मनुष्यको लोग असमर्थ समझ लेते हैं ।।
so 'sya doṣo na mantavyaḥ kṣamā hi paramaṃ balam | kṣamā guṇo hy aśaktānāṃ śaktānāṃ bhūṣaṇaṃ kṣamā ||
Vidura says that what people call a ‘fault’ in a forgiving person should not truly be counted as a fault. Forgiveness is, in fact, a supreme strength: for the weak it functions as a practical virtue, and for the strong it becomes an ornament—an ethical excellence that restrains power and preserves righteousness.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Forgiveness should not be mistaken for incapacity; it is a higher form of strength. In the weak it is a necessary virtue that prevents escalation, while in the strong it is an adornment because it shows mastery over anger and the ethical restraint of power.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers moral and political counsel in the tense lead-up to war. Here he addresses the common misjudgment that a forgiving person is ‘weak,’ reframing forgiveness as a deliberate, dharmic choice and a mark of true capability.