Shloka 92
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
स्त्रियो$क्षा मृगया पानं वाक्पारुष्यं च पञजचमम् | महच्च दण्डपारुष्यमर्थदूषणमेव च,सत्रीविषयक आसक्ति, जूआ, शिकार, मद्यपान, वचनकी कठोरता, अत्यन्त कठोर दण्ड देना और धनका दुरुपयोग करना--ये सात दुःखदायी दोष राजाको सदा त्याग देने चाहिये। इनसे दृढ़मूल राजा भी प्राय: नष्ट हो जाते हैं
striyo ’kṣā mṛgayā pānaṁ vāk-pāruṣyaṁ ca pañcamam | mahac ca daṇḍa-pāruṣyam artha-dūṣaṇam eva ca ||
Vidura said: “Attachment to women, gambling, hunting, drinking intoxicants, harshness of speech (as the fifth), excessive cruelty in punishment, and the corruption or misuse of wealth—these are the seven sorrow-bringing vices that a king should always abandon. By these, even rulers whose power seems firmly rooted are commonly ruined.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must renounce seven destructive vices—sensual indulgence, gambling, hunting, intoxication, harsh speech, cruel punishment, and financial corruption—because they erode judgment, justice, and public trust, leading even stable kingdoms toward ruin.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel on statecraft and dharma, warning the ruler about specific habits that destabilize governance and invite downfall, as part of his broader ethical instruction before the great conflict.