Shloka 41

Devanagari script

अकस्मादेव कुप्यन्ति प्रसीदन्त्यनिमित्तत: । शीलमेतदसाधूनाम श्र पारिप्लवं यथा,दुष्ट पुरुषोंका स्वभाव मेघके समान चंचल होता है, वे सहसा क्रोध कर बैठते हैं और अकारण ही प्रसन्न हो जाते हैं

Transliteration

akasmād eva kupyanti prasīdanty animittataḥ | śīlam etad asādhūnām yathā pariplavaṃ ghanaḥ ||

Translation

Vidura says: The wicked are fickle by nature, like a drifting cloud. They flare up in anger without warning and become pleased without any real cause. Such instability is the very mark of the unrighteous, and it makes them unreliable in counsel and conduct.

Word by Word

अकस्मात्suddenly, unexpectedly

एवindeed, just

कुप्यन्तिthey become angry

प्रसीदन्तिthey become pleased/calm

अनिमित्ततःwithout cause, for no reason

शीलम्nature, disposition

एतत्this

असाधूनाम्of the wicked/unsaintly

यथाas, like

पारिप्लवम्unstable, fickle, wavering

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unstable emotions—sudden anger and causeless pleasure—are signs of an unvirtuous character. Such fickleness makes a person untrustworthy; steadiness and reasoned self-control are implied marks of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vidura’s counsel during the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, he warns about the temperament of wicked people, using the image of a drifting cloud to describe their unpredictable reactions.