Shloka 31

Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma

Devanagari script

मा धूमाय ज्वलात्यन्तमाक्रम्य जहि शात्रवान्‌

Transliteration

mā dhūmāya jvalātyantam ākramya jahi śātravān

Translation

Dijo Vāyu-deva: «No te dejes abatir por el mero humo. Avanza con paso firme hacia la llama más feroz y derriba a los enemigos hostiles».

Word by Word

• मा: do not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा
• Form: Prohibitive particle used with imperative/optative

• धूमाय: for smoke / to smoke
• धूमाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धूम
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• ज्वल: burn; blaze
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्वल्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अत्यन्तम्: excessively; utterly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यन्त
• Form: Adverb

• आक्रम्य: having attacked; having advanced upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-क्रम्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), indeclinable

• जहि: slay; kill
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शात्रवान्: enemies
• शात्रवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शात्रव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu-deva
• enemies (śātravāḥ)
• smoke (dhūma)
• flame/fire (jvalā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not be deterred by obscuring, secondary threats (like smoke); confront the real danger directly with courage and purposeful action, especially when duty requires decisive resistance to hostility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva delivers a forceful exhortation to advance rather than hesitate—urging the hearer to push through confusion and fear and to defeat the enemies with determined effort.