Shloka 93
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
अष्टौ पूर्वनिमित्तानि नरस्य विनशिष्यत: । ब्राह्मणान् प्रथम द्वेष्टि ब्राह्मणैश्व विरुध्यते
aṣṭau pūrvanimittāni narasya vinaśiṣyataḥ | brāhmaṇān prathamaṃ dveṣṭi brāhmaṇaiś ca virudhyate ||
Vidura warns that a person headed toward ruin shows clear early omens. Foremost among them is hostility toward brāhmaṇas: first he begins to hate them, and then he comes into open conflict with them. In the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, such contempt for the custodians of learning, ritual, and moral counsel signals a collapse of self-restraint and dharma, and it becomes the doorway to further wrongdoing and downfall.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The earliest warning sign of impending ruin is hatred and opposition toward brāhmaṇas—symbolizing rejection of moral counsel, learning, and restraint. Such hostility marks the beginning of a broader collapse of dharma that leads to self-destruction.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers ethical counsel (nīti) during the tense pre-war negotiations. Here he lists foretokens of a person’s downfall, beginning with animosity toward brāhmaṇas, as a cautionary diagnosis of moral decay.