Shloka 29
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)
अथ संत्यजतो धर्ममधर्म चानुतिष्ठत: । प्रतिसंवेष्टते भूमिरग्नौ चर्माहितं यथा,जो राजा धर्मको छोड़ता और अधर्मका अनुष्ठान करता है, उसकी राज्यभूमि आगपर रखे हुए चमड़ेकी भाँति संकुचित हो जाती है
atha saṃtyajato dharmam adharmaṃ cānutiṣṭhataḥ | pratisaṃveṣṭate bhūmir agnau carma-āhitaṃ yathā ||
Vidura said: When a king abandons dharma and instead practices adharma, the very land of his kingdom contracts and withers—like a hide shriveling when laid upon fire. Unrighteous rule does not merely stain the ruler; it diminishes the realm itself, eroding prosperity, stability, and the people’s welfare.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s abandonment of dharma and adoption of adharma causes tangible harm to the realm: prosperity and stability diminish. The simile of leather shrinking on fire conveys rapid, inevitable contraction under the heat of unrighteous governance.
In Vidura’s counsel during the Udyoga Parva, he warns about the political and moral consequences of unjust rule. He frames the king’s personal ethical failure as a force that physically and materially reduces the kingdom’s well-being.