Shloka 30
उद्योगपर्व — विदुरनीतिः (Adhyāya 37): आयुःक्षयहेतवः, नीतिसूत्राणि, बलभेदाः, पाण्डव-विग्रहदोषदर्शनम्
वशमें आये हुए वधके योग्य शत्रुको कभी छोड़ना नहीं चाहिये। यदि अपना बल अधिक न हो तो नम्र होकर उसके पास समय बिताना चाहिये और बल होनेपर उसे मार ही डालना चाहिये; क्योंकि यदि शत्रु मारा न गया तो उससे शीघ्र ही भय उपस्थित होता है ।। दैवतेषु प्रयत्नेन राजसु ब्राह्मणेषु च । नियन्तव्य: सदा क्रोधो वृद्धबालातुरेषु च,देवता, ब्राह्मण, राजा, वृद्ध, बालक और रोगीपर होनेवाले क्रोधको प्रयत्नपूर्वक सदा रोकना चाहिये
vaśam āye hue vadhake yogya śatruko kabhī choḍanā nahīṁ cāhiye. yadi apanā bala adhika na ho to namra hokara usake pāsa samaya bitānā cāhiye aura bala honepara use mār hī ḍālanā cāhiye; kyoṅki yadi śatru mārā na gayā to usase śīghra hī bhaya upasthita hotā hai. daivateṣu prayatnena rājasu brāhmaṇeṣu ca | niyantavyaḥ sadā krodho vṛddha-bāla-ātureṣu ca ||
Vidura advises that an enemy who has come under one’s control and is fit to be slain should not be released. If one’s strength is insufficient, one should act with humility and bide time near him; but when strength is gained, one should strike him down—because an enemy left alive soon becomes a source of fear. At the same time, anger must always be restrained with deliberate effort toward the gods, kings, and Brahmins, and also toward the aged, children, and the sick.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura combines political realism with moral restraint: a dangerous enemy should not be spared once decisively within one’s power, yet one must discipline anger—especially toward those deserving reverence (gods, Brahmins, rulers) and those deserving compassion (the aged, children, the sick).
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-setting, Vidura is instructing on conduct and strategy amid rising conflict: how to handle enemies pragmatically while maintaining dharmic self-control in speech and temperament toward respected and vulnerable persons.