Shloka 30
वृत्तं यत्नेन संरक्षेद् वित्तमेति च याति च | अक्षीणो वित्तत: क्षीणो वृत्ततस्तु हतो हतः,सदाचारकी रक्षा यत्नपूर्वक करनी चाहिये; धन तो आता और जाता रहता है। धन क्षीण हो जानेपर भी सदाचारी मनुष्य क्षीण नहीं माना जाता; किंतु जो सदाचारसे भ्रष्ट हो गया, उसे तो नष्ट ही समझना चाहिये
vṛttaṃ yatnena saṃrakṣed vittam eti ca yāti ca | akṣīṇo vittataḥ kṣīṇo vṛttatas tu hato hataḥ ||
Vidura advises that one must guard one’s righteous conduct with deliberate effort, for wealth continually comes and goes. A person is not truly diminished merely because wealth has dwindled; but one who has fallen away from good conduct is to be regarded as ruined indeed.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protect moral conduct (vṛtta/sadācāra) with constant effort; wealth is unstable, but character is the true measure of a person—loss of wealth is not real ruin, loss of conduct is.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, Vidura delivers nīti (ethical instruction), emphasizing to the Kuru court that integrity must be safeguarded above material prosperity.