Shloka 85
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
प्रमदा: कामयानेषु यजमानेषु याजका: । राजा विवदमानेषु नित्यं॑ मूर्खेषु पण्डिता:
pramadāḥ kāmayāneṣu yajamāneṣu yājakāḥ | rājā vivadamāneṣu nityaṁ mūrkheṣu paṇḍitāḥ ||
Vidura observes a recurring pattern in society: women are found among those driven by desire; priests gather around those performing sacrifices; a king is drawn into the midst of quarrelling parties; and learned men are continually found among fools—either to instruct them, restrain them, or to be tested by their folly. The verse highlights how certain roles and dispositions naturally gravitate toward particular situations, warning that wisdom must often operate amid disorder and ignorance.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Certain tendencies and social functions repeatedly cluster: desire attracts the company of women, sacrifice attracts priests, disputes draw in rulers, and folly inevitably becomes the field where the wise must work. The ethical point is that wisdom and governance are tested amid conflict and ignorance, so one should be vigilant about the company and situations one enters.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura is offering counsel marked by sharp observations about conduct and society. This verse functions as a compact ‘nīti’ statement, describing predictable human and institutional patterns relevant to political negotiation and the management of conflict.