Shloka 51
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
अतृणे पतितो वदह्नलिः स्वयमेवोपशाम्यति | अक्षमावान् परं दोषैरात्मानं चैव योजयेत्,तृणरहित स्थानमें गिरी हुई आग अपने-आप बुझ जाती है। क्षमाहीन पुरुष अपनेको तथा दूसरेको भी दोषका भागी बना लेता है
atṛṇe patito vahnaliḥ svayam evopaśāmyati | akṣamāvān paraṃ doṣair ātmānaṃ caiva yojayet ||
Just as a fire that has fallen where there is no grass (no fuel) dies out of itself, so too a person devoid of forbearance entangles both himself and others in faults. Vidura teaches that anger and retaliation survive only where they are fed; when patience removes their fuel, conflict naturally subsides, whereas impatience spreads blame and wrongdoing through the whole circle of relations.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Anger and quarrel persist only when they find ‘fuel’—provocation, harsh speech, and retaliation. Practicing kṣamā (forbearance) removes that fuel, letting hostility die out naturally; lack of forgiveness, by contrast, multiplies faults and makes both oneself and others share in wrongdoing.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura is offering moral counsel (Vidura-nīti) amid rising tensions before the great war. Here he uses a simple image—fire extinguishing itself when it falls on a fuel-less spot—to advise restraint and patience so that disputes do not escalate and spread blame through the community.