Shloka 60
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
द्वावम्भसि निवेष्टव्यौ गले बद्ध्वा दृढां शिलाम् | धनवन्तमदातारं दरिद्रंं चातपस्विनम्
dvāv ambhasi niveṣṭavyau gale baddhvā dṛḍhāṁ śilām | dhanavantaṁ adātāraṁ daridraṁ cātapasvinam ||
Vidura declares that two kinds of people deserve to be sunk in water with a heavy stone tied to their neck: the wealthy person who refuses to give, and the poor person who, instead of enduring hardship with discipline, cannot bear austerity. The ethical thrust is that prosperity without generosity and poverty without fortitude both violate dharma and social responsibility.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma demands that wealth be matched by generosity (dāna) and poverty be met with endurance and disciplined restraint (tapas). Failing in either—stinginess in prosperity or lack of fortitude in hardship—undermines moral order and personal worth.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-setting, Vidura speaks in the mode of nīti (ethical-political instruction), using a sharp metaphor of punishment to condemn two socially harmful dispositions: the rich who hoard and the poor who cannot bear necessary hardship.