Shloka 16
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)
यस्तु पक््वमुपादत्ते काले परिणतं फलम् | फलाद् रसं स लभते बीजाच्चैव फलं पुन:,परंतु जो समयपर पके हुए फलको ग्रहण करता है, वह फलसे रस पाता है और उस बीजसे पुनः फल प्राप्त करता है
yastu pakvam upādatte kāle pariṇataṁ phalam | phalād rasaṁ sa labhate bījāc caiva phalaṁ punaḥ ||
Vidura says: “The one who takes a fruit only when it has ripened in due season gains its sweetness from the fruit—and from its seed, in time, gains fruit again. This teaches timely action and patient restraint: act at the proper moment, and you gain now while securing what comes later.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Act at the proper time and with maturity: timely, restrained action yields immediate benefit (the fruit’s rasa) and also creates future benefit (new fruit from the seed).
In Vidura’s counsel during the Udyoga Parva, he uses a simple agrarian metaphor—taking fruit when ripe—to advise wise, timely conduct and to warn against premature, impulsive choices in a tense political situation.