Shloka 71
गुरुरात्मवतां शास्ता शास्ता राजा दुरात्मनाम् | अथ प्रच्छन्नपापानां शास्ता वैवस्चतो यम:,अपने मन और इन्द्रियोंको वशमें करनेवाले शिष्योंके शासक गुरु हैं, दुष्टोंके शासक राजा हैं और छिपे-छिपे पाप करनेवालोंके शासक सूर्यपुत्र यमराज हैं
gurur ātmavatāṁ śāstā śāstā rājā durātmanām | atha pracchannapāpānāṁ śāstā vaivasvato yamaḥ ||
Vidura teaches that correction works at different levels: for disciplined students who have mastered mind and senses, the guru is the rightful guide and regulator; for the wicked, the king is the external authority who restrains wrongdoing; and for those who sin in secret, Yama—son of Vivasvat, the Sun—is the ultimate judge who cannot be evaded. The point is that accountability is inescapable: if not checked by inner discipline or social law, one still answers to cosmic justice.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Different kinds of people are corrected by different authorities: the self-controlled are guided by the guru, the openly wicked are restrained by the king’s law, and secret sinners are judged by Yama—so moral accountability cannot be escaped.
Vidura is delivering ethical counsel (nīti) in the Udyoga Parva context, emphasizing to the royal audience that social order and dharma are upheld through inner discipline, political authority, and ultimately divine/cosmic justice.