Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

सुपूरा वै कुनदिका सुपूरो मूषिकाउ्जलि: । सुसंतोष: कापुरुष: स्वल्पकेनैव तुष्यति,जैसे छोटी नदी थोड़े जलसे अनायास ही भर जाती है और चूहेकी अंजलि थोड़े अन्नसे ही भर जाती है, उसी प्रकार कायरको संतोष दिलाना बहुत सुगम है, वह थोड़ेसे ही संतुष्ट हो जाता है

Transliteration

supūrā vai kunadikā supūro mūṣikāñjaliḥ | susantoṣaḥ kāpuruṣaḥ svalpakenaiva tuṣyati ||

Translation

Vāyu dit : «Un petit ruisseau se remplit aisément d’un peu d’eau, et la ‘poignée’ d’un rat se comble de quelques grains. De même, le lâche se satisfait vite ; il se contente de fort peu.»

Word by Word

सुपूराeasily filled / well-filled

वैindeed

कुनदिकाa small river/stream

सुपूरःeasily filled / well-filled

मूषिक-अञ्जलिःa mouse’s handful (a very small measure)

सुसंतोषःeasily satisfied / readily content

कापुरुषःa coward / base man

स्वल्पकेनwith a little (thing/amount)

एवonly / just

तुष्यतिis satisfied

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva (the Wind-god)

kunadikā (small stream)

mūṣikāñjali (mouse’s handful/measure)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse criticizes cowardice as a mindset that settles for minimal gain or comfort; such a person is easily appeased and thus unfit for demanding duties where courage and perseverance are required.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva delivers a pointed moral observation using two everyday images—a small stream and a mouse’s tiny handful—to illustrate how quickly a coward becomes satisfied, implying a contrast with the steadfastness expected in the larger conflict setting of the Udyoga Parva.