Shloka 5
उद्योगपर्व — विदुरनीतिः (Adhyāya 37): आयुःक्षयहेतवः, नीतिसूत्राणि, बलभेदाः, पाण्डव-विग्रहदोषदर्शनम्
अविक्रयं लवणं पक््वमन्नं दधि क्षीरं मधु तैलं घृतं च । तिला मांसं फलमूलानि शाकं रक्त वास: सर्वगन्धा गुडाश्न,नमक, पका हुआ अन्न, दही, दूध, मधु, तेल, घी, तिल, मांस, फल, मूल, साग, लाल कपड़ा, सब प्रकारकी गन्ध और गुड़--इतनी वस्तुएँ बेचने योग्य नहीं हैं
avikrayaṃ lavaṇaṃ pakvam annaṃ dadhi kṣīraṃ madhu tailaṃ ghṛtaṃ ca | tilā māṃsaṃ phalamūlāni śākaṃ rakta-vāsaḥ sarva-gandhā guḍaṃ ca ||
Vidura declares that certain necessities and sanctified household items are not fit to be treated as merchandise. Salt, cooked food, curd, milk, honey, oil, ghee, sesame, meat, fruits and roots, vegetables, red cloth, all kinds of fragrances, and jaggery—these, he says, should not be sold.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches ethical restraint in commerce: some essential foods and culturally significant goods are considered improper to sell for profit, reflecting a dharmic ideal that livelihood should not exploit basic sustenance or sacred/ritually charged items.
In Vidura’s counsel (Vidura-nīti) within the Udyoga Parva, he lists categories of goods that should be treated as ‘not for sale,’ offering moral guidance on proper conduct and right livelihood amid the broader political crisis preceding the Kurukṣetra war.