Shloka 14
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)
यच्छव्यं ग्रसितु ग्रस्यं ग्रस्तं परिणमेच्च यत् । हितं च परिणामे यत् तदाद्यं भूतिमिच्छता,अत: अपनी उन्नति चाहनेवाले पुरुषको वही वस्तु खानी (या ग्रहण करनी) चाहिये, (जो परिणाममें अनिष्टकर न हो अर्थात) जो खानेयोग्य हो तथा खायी जा सके, खाने (या ग्रहण करने)-पर पच सके और पच जानेपर हितकारी हो
yac chavyam grasitu grasyam grastaṁ pariṇamec ca yat | hitaṁ ca pariṇāme yat tad ādyaṁ bhūtim icchatā ||
Vidura says: One who seeks prosperity should accept only that which is truly fit to be taken—something that can be consumed, can be digested after being taken, and, once digested, turns out to be beneficial. In other words, a wise person chooses only what yields wholesome results in the end, not what merely appears attractive at first.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Choose only what is wholesome in outcome: what can be rightly taken, what can be ‘digested’ (handled/assimilated), and what, after maturation, proves beneficial. The standard of judgment is the final consequence (pariṇāma), not immediate appeal.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers moral and practical counsel (nīti) during the tense pre-war negotiations. Here he uses the metaphor of food and digestion to advise careful selection of actions, alliances, and desires—accept only what will not harm in the end.