Shloka 2
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 64: Arjuna’s Instruction to Sanjaya
Message to the Kuru Assembly
पज्चानां पाण्डुपुत्राणां यत् तेज: प्रजिहीर्षसि । पज्चानामिव भूतानां महतां लोकधारिणाम्,यही कारण है कि तुम सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके आधारस्वरूप पाँच महाभूतोंके समान पाँचों पाण्डवोंके तेजका अपहरण करनेकी इच्छा कर रहे हो
pañcānāṃ pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ yat tejaḥ prajihīrṣasi | pañcānām iva bhūtānāṃ mahatāṃ lokadhāriṇām ||
Vidura said: “Why do you seek to strip away the splendor and rightful power of the five sons of Pāṇḍu—who, like the five great elements that uphold the worlds, are themselves great and world-sustaining? To desire the removal of such radiance is to oppose the very supports of order.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura warns that depriving the Pāṇḍavas of their rightful ‘tejas’ (legitimate power and dignity) is not merely political wrongdoing; it is an ethical violation against the supports of social and cosmic order, likened to attacking the five great elements that sustain the world.
In Udyoga Parva, as war tensions rise, Vidura counsels the Kuru leadership, challenging the intent to dispossess the Pāṇḍavas. He frames the Pāṇḍavas as indispensable pillars of stability, urging restraint and dharmic governance rather than envy-driven usurpation.