Shloka 75
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 34 — Vidura’s Counsel on Deliberation, Speech-Discipline, and Dharmic Kingship
बुद्धिश्रेष्ठानि कर्माणि बाहुमध्यानि भारत । तानि जड्घाजघन्यानि भारप्रत्यवराणि च,भारत! बुद्धिसे विचारकर किये हुए कर्म श्रेष्ठ होते हैं, बाहुबलसे किये जानेवाले कर्म मध्यम श्रेणीके हैं, जंघासे किये जानेवाले कार्य अधम हैं और भार ढोनेका काम महान् अधम है
buddhiśreṣṭhāni karmāṇi bāhumadhyāni bhārata | tāni jaḍghājaghanyāni bhārapratyavarāṇi ca ||
Vidura said: “O Bhārata, actions guided by intelligence are the highest. Actions done by the strength of the arms are middling. Those done ‘by the legs’ are base; and the work of merely carrying burdens is the most degraded of all.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches a hierarchy of action: the highest deeds are those governed by buddhi (discernment and wise deliberation), while deeds relying mainly on physical force are inferior, and purely servile labor is lowest. The ethical thrust is that dignity and dharma increase as actions become more thoughtful, self-directed, and responsibly reasoned.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura is advising the Kuru king (addressed as ‘Bhārata’, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra). This verse forms part of Vidura’s nīti-instruction, urging the ruler to value counsel, prudence, and intelligent policy over coercion and brute strength—an especially pointed warning in the tense lead-up to war.