Shloka 40
न च रात्रौ सुखं शेते ससर्प इव वेश्मनि । यः कोपयति निर्दोषं सदोषो5भ्यन्तरं जनम्,जो स्वयं दोषी होकर भी निर्दोष आत्मीय व्यक्तिको कुपित करता है, वह सर्पयुक्त घरमें रहनेवाले मनुष्यकी भाँति रातमें सुखसे नहीं सो सकता
na ca rātrau sukhaṃ śete sa-sarpa iva veśmani | yaḥ kopayati nirdoṣaṃ sa-doṣo 'bhyantaraṃ janam ||
Vidura says: A person who is himself at fault, yet provokes an innocent member of his own household, cannot sleep peacefully at night—like one trying to rest in a house where a snake is present. The inner sting of wrongdoing and the danger created by unjust anger destroy repose.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
One who is himself guilty but directs anger toward an innocent close person creates inner fear and moral unrest; such wrongdoing destroys peace of mind, just as the presence of a snake makes a house unsafe for restful sleep.
In Vidura’s counsel (Vidura-nīti) during the Udyoga Parva, he warns against unjust anger and mistreatment within one’s own circle, using a vivid simile to show how ethical failure immediately rebounds as anxiety and sleeplessness.