Shloka 14
धूमायन्ते व्यपेतानि ज्वलन्ति सहितानि च । धृतराष्ट्रोल्मुकानीव ज्ञातयो भरतर्षभ,भरतकुलभूषण धृतराष्ट्र! जैसे जलते हुए काष्ठ अलग-अलग कर दिये जानेपर जल नहीं पाते, केवल धुआँ देते हैं और परस्पर मिल जानेपर प्रज्वलित हो उठते हैं, उसी प्रकार कुटुम्बीजन आपसी फूटके कारण अलग-अलग रहनेपर अशक्त हो जाते हैं तथा परस्पर संगठित होनेपर बलवान् एवं तेजस्वी होते हैं
dhūmāyante vyapetāni jvalanti sahitāni ca | dhṛtarāṣṭrolmukānīva jñātayo bharatarṣabha ||
Vidura says: “When burning logs are separated, they do not blaze; they only smoke. When they are kept together, they flare up. In the same way, kinsmen—like the firebrands of Dhṛtarāṣṭra—become weak when divided by mutual discord, but when united they become strong and radiant. Therefore, O bull among the Bharatas, let not the family be broken by faction; unity is the strength that preserves the house and restrains ruin.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strength arises from unity: like fire that blazes when logs are together but only smokes when separated, a family or polity becomes powerful when cohesive and becomes ineffective when divided by internal quarrels.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels the Kuru king Dhṛtarāṣṭra during the tense pre-war negotiations. He warns that factionalism among relatives will weaken the Kuru house, urging cohesion and wise restraint to avert catastrophe.