Shloka 34
गन्धेन गाव: पश्यन्ति वेद: पश्यन्ति ब्राह्मणा: । चारै: पश्यन्ति राजानश्नक्षुभ्यामितरे जना:,इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि प्रजागरपर्वणि विदुरनीतिवाक्ये चतुस्त्रिंशो 5 ध्याय: इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ााभारत उद्योगपर्वके अन्तर्गत प्रजागरपर्वमें विदुर-नीतिवाक्यविषयक चौंतीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
gandhena gāvaḥ paśyanti | vedaḥ paśyanti brāhmaṇāḥ | cāraiḥ paśyanti rājānaḥ | akṣubhyām itare janāḥ |
Vidura says: “Cows perceive by scent; Brahmins perceive through the Vedas. Kings perceive through their spies and intelligence networks; other people perceive with their eyes.” In this counsel, Vidura highlights that each class relies on its proper instrument of knowledge, and that rulers, in particular, must see the world through informed inquiry rather than mere appearance.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Different beings and social roles have different means of reliable knowledge: cows rely on scent, Brahmins on Vedic learning, kings on intelligence-gathering, and ordinary people chiefly on direct sight. The ethical point is that a ruler should not govern by superficial appearances but by well-informed discernment.
In the Prajāgara-parvan section of Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers nīti (practical-ethical counsel). This verse concludes a sequence of aphoristic teachings, emphasizing appropriate instruments of perception and, for kings, the necessity of spies and informed inquiry.