Shloka 1536
Vidura-nīti: Atithi-dharma, Trust, Counsel-Secrecy, and Traits of Sustainable Rule
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 38
अल्पेअ्प्यपकृते मोहान्न शान्तिमधिगच्छति । फिर वह नीच पुरुष निन्दा करनेके लिये यत्न करता है, थोड़ा भी अपराध हो जानेपर मोहवश विनाशके लिये उद्योग आरम्भ कर देता है। उसे तनिक भी शान्ति नहीं मिलती
alpe 'py apakṛte mohān na śāntim adhigacchati |
Vidura says: Even when the wrongdoing is slight, a person deluded by infatuation does not attain peace. Instead, the base-minded man strains to find fault and, over a small offence, begins efforts that lead toward ruin—there is not even a little tranquillity for him.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Delusion (moha) makes a person magnify even minor offences, pushing him toward fault-finding and destructive retaliation; such a mind cannot gain śānti (inner peace). The ethical counsel is to restrain reactive hostility and avoid escalating small harms into ruin.
In Vidura’s counsel (Vidura-nīti) within the Udyoga Parva, he warns about the psychology of the ignoble person: even a slight provocation becomes fuel for condemnation and harmful action. The verse functions as moral instruction aimed at preventing needless escalation in an already tense political situation.