Shloka 14
Vidura-nīti: Atithi-dharma, Trust, Counsel-Secrecy, and Traits of Sustainable Rule
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 38
युक्ताश्चान्यैर्महादोषैयें नरास्तान् विवर्जयेत् । निवर्तमाने सौहार्दे प्रीतिर्नीचे प्रणश्यति
yuktāścānyair mahādoṣair ye narās tān vivarjayet | nivartamāne sauhārde prītir nīce praṇaśyati ||
Vidura advises that one should keep away from people burdened with grave faults and other vices. When goodwill and mutual affection begin to withdraw, love and loyalty perish first in a base-minded person—revealing the low character that cannot sustain friendship when harmony declines.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Avoid association with people marked by serious moral defects; when harmony weakens, the ignoble person is the first to let affection collapse, so friendship should be grounded in virtue rather than convenience.
In Vidura’s counsel during the tense pre-war negotiations of the Udyoga Parva, he offers practical nīti: how to judge companions and preserve dharmic relationships amid declining goodwill.