Shloka 35
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 34 — Vidura’s Counsel on Deliberation, Speech-Discipline, and Dharmic Kingship
प्रह्माद उवाच मत्त: श्रेयानड्रिरा वै सुधन्वा त्वद्वधिरोचन | मातास्य श्रेयसी मातुस्तस्मात् त्वं तेन वै जित:,भरतश्रेष्ठ) पाण्डव तो सभी उत्तम गुणोंसे सम्पन्न हैं और आपमें पिताका-सा भाव रखकर बर्ताव करते हैं; आप भी उनपर पुत्रभाव रखकर उचित बर्ताव कीजिये ।। इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि प्रजागरपर्वणि विदुरनीतिवाक्ये पउठ्चत्रिंशो 5ध्याय: [
prahlāda uvāca | mattaḥ śreyān adrīrā vai sudhanvā tvad-vadhī-rocan | mātāsya śreyasī mātuḥ tasmāt tvaṃ tena vai jitaḥ |
Prahlāda said: “Sudhanvā is superior to you; he is firm and unshakable, and his resolve is directed toward your downfall. His mother is nobler than your mother; therefore, you have already been overcome by him.” In ethical terms, the verse frames ‘victory’ not merely as physical dominance but as the advantage gained through superior character, steadiness, and the moral strength inherited and cultivated through one’s upbringing.
प्रह्माद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Superiority is grounded in steadfastness, moral resolve, and cultivated virtue; one who is firm in purpose and supported by nobler character (symbolized through ‘the better mother’) gains an ethical advantage that amounts to victory even before open confrontation.
Prahlāda delivers a pointed assessment to an opponent, declaring Sudhanvā the stronger party—steadfast, determined, and ethically advantaged—thereby warning that the addressee is already ‘defeated’ in the deeper sense of moral and strategic standing.