Shloka 25
Vidura-nīti: Atithi-dharma, Trust, Counsel-Secrecy, and Traits of Sustainable Rule
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 38
ज्ञातयस्तारयन्तीह ज्ञातयो मज्जयन्ति च | सुवृत्तास्तारयन्तीह दुर्वत्ता मज्जयन्ति च
jñātayas tārayantīha jñātayo majjayanti ca | suvṛttās tārayantīha durvattā majjayanti ca ||
Vidura says: In this world, it is one’s own kinsmen who can bring one safely across—and it is the very same kinsmen who can also cause one to sink. Those relatives who are of good conduct become a saving support; those of corrupt conduct become the cause of ruin.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Family ties are powerful but morally neutral: the same circle of relatives can become one’s protection or one’s downfall. Therefore, the decisive factor is character—virtuous conduct uplifts, corrupt conduct destroys.
In the Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers ethical counsel during the tense pre-war negotiations. He warns that the fate of a person (and a dynasty) is shaped by the conduct of its own members—good relatives support and rescue, while wicked relatives drag one into disaster.