Shloka 86
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
निम्नांकित छः प्रकारके मनुष्य छ: प्रकारके लोगोंसे अपनी जीविका चलाते हैं, सातवेंकी उपलब्धि नहीं होती। चोर असावधान पुरुषसे, वैद्य रोगीसे, कामोन्मत्त स्त्रियाँ कामियोंसे, पुरोहित यजमानोंसे, राजा झगड़नेवालोंसे तथा विद्वान् पुरुष मूर्शोंसे अपनी जीविका चलाते हैं ।।
vidura uvāca | ṣaḍ imāni vinaśyanti muhūrtam anavekṣaṇāt | gāvaḥ sevā kṛṣir bhāryā vidyā vṛṣala-saṅgatiḥ ||
Vidura said: These six are ruined by neglect even for a moment: cattle, service (one’s employment and duties), agriculture, a wife (the household order), learning, and association with the base. The ethical point is that prosperity and character do not collapse only through great disasters; they are most often undone by small lapses of vigilance and by corrupting company.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even brief negligence can undo valuable supports of life—wealth (cattle, farming), livelihood (service), domestic stability (wife/household), and inner capital (learning). Therefore one must be vigilant and avoid degrading company, which silently erodes character and competence.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers nīti (statecraft and moral counsel) amid rising conflict. This verse is part of his practical ethical instruction, warning that social and personal foundations collapse not only through major calamities but through small lapses and harmful associations.