Shloka 45
उद्योगपर्व — विदुरनीतिः (Adhyāya 37): आयुःक्षयहेतवः, नीतिसूत्राणि, बलभेदाः, पाण्डव-विग्रहदोषदर्शनम्
य॑ प्रशंसन्ति कितवा यं॑ प्रशंसन्ति चारणा: । य॑ प्रशंसन्ति बन्धक्यो न स जीवति मानव:,(केवल) जुआरी जिसकी प्रशंसा करते हैं, नर्तक जिसकी प्रशंसाका गान करते हैं और वेश्याएँ जिसकी बड़ाई किया करती हैं, वह मनुष्य जीता ही मुर्देके समान है
yaṁ praśaṁsanti kitavā yaṁ praśaṁsanti cāraṇāḥ | yaṁ praśaṁsanti bandhakyo na sa jīvati mānavaḥ ||
Vidura says: “A man whom gamblers applaud, whom professional bards and entertainers praise, and whom courtesans extol is not truly living; though he breathes, he lives like one already dead—because his life is governed by vice and empty approval rather than dharma and self-restraint.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura warns that seeking validation from morally compromised circles—gamblers, hired flatterers, and courtesans—signals a life ruled by indulgence and vanity. Such a person may be alive physically, but is 'as good as dead' ethically, because dharma, restraint, and honorable reputation have been abandoned.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel (nīti) meant to correct destructive tendencies in the Kuru court. This verse is part of his sharp social-ethical critique: he identifies the kind of praise that should alarm a ruler or householder, because it comes from those who profit from another’s weakness.