Shloka 105
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
जानाति विश्वासयितुं मनुष्यान् विज्ञातदोषेषु दधाति दण्डम् | जानाति मात्रां च तथा क्षमां च त॑ तादृशं श्रीर्जुषते समग्रा
jānāti viśvāsayituṁ manuṣyān vijñātadoṣeṣu dadhāti daṇḍam | jānāti mātrāṁ ca tathā kṣamāṁ ca taṁ tādṛśaṁ śrīr juṣate samagrā ||
Dice Vidura: «El gobernante que sabe inspirar confianza en el pueblo, que castiga solo a aquellos cuya culpa ha quedado claramente probada, y que entiende tanto la justa medida del castigo como el uso oportuno del perdón—ese rey es servido de manera natural por una prosperidad plena».
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Good governance rests on three skills: building public trust, punishing only when guilt is proven, and calibrating justice with proportion and mercy. Prosperity follows a ruler who balances daṇḍa (discipline) with kṣamā (clemency).
In Vidura’s counsel during the Udyoga Parva, he outlines qualities of an ideal ruler for a tense political moment: legitimacy through trust, fairness through evidence-based punishment, and stability through measured severity tempered by forgiveness.