Shloka 76
Vidura-nīti: Atithi-dharma, Trust, Counsel-Secrecy, and Traits of Sustainable Rule
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 38
अविद्य: पुरुष: शोच्य: शोच्यं मैथुनमप्रजम् । निराहारा: प्रजा: शोच्या: शोच्य॑ राष्ट्रमराजकम्
avidyaḥ puruṣaḥ śocyaḥ śocyaṁ maithunam aprajam | nirāhārāḥ prajāḥ śocyāḥ śocyaṁ rāṣṭram arājakam ||
Vidura said: A man without knowledge is to be lamented; so too is sexual union that yields no offspring. A people left without sustenance are to be lamented; and a kingdom without a king is also to be lamented. In each case, the absence of what sustains life and order—wisdom, progeny, food, and governance—becomes a cause for grief and social decline.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura lists four conditions that deserve lamentation because they undermine human flourishing and social stability: ignorance in a person, intimacy that fails to secure lineage/continuity, a populace deprived of food, and a leaderless kingdom. The teaching emphasizes that wisdom, progeny/continuity, sustenance, and rightful governance are pillars of dharma and societal well-being.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel (nīti) amid rising political crisis, warning about the foundations of a stable realm. This verse functions as a compact ethical diagnosis: when knowledge, family continuity, public nourishment, or kingship collapses, grief and disorder follow.