Shloka 22
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 34 — Vidura’s Counsel on Deliberation, Speech-Discipline, and Dharmic Kingship
विदुर उवाच एवं कृतपणोौ क्रुद्धौ तत्राभिजग्मतुस्तदा । विरोचनसुधन्वानौ प्रह्वादो यत्र तिषठति,विदुरजी कहते हैं--राजन्! इस तरह बाजी लगाकर परस्पर क़ुद्ध हो विरोचन और सुधन्वा दोनों उस समय वहाँ गये, जहाँ प्रह्नमाद थे
vidura uvāca evaṁ kṛtapaṇau kruddhau tatrābhijagmatus tadā | virocanasudhanvānau prahrādo yatra tiṣṭhati ||
Vidura said: “O King, after staking their wager in this way and becoming angry with one another, Virocana and Sudhanvan then went to the place where Prahrāda was staying.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical dispute: when anger arises from rivalry and wagering, the proper course is to seek adjudication from a respected authority (here, Prahrāda), implying that truth and dharma should be settled through wise counsel rather than escalation.
Vidura narrates that Virocana and Sudhanvan, having made a wager and then becoming mutually enraged, go together to Prahrāda’s location—apparently to have the matter judged or clarified by him.