Shloka 10

हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः

Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace

Devanagari script

विदुर उवाच अतिमानो5तिवादश्न तथात्यागो नराधिप । क्रोधश्चात्मविधित्सा च मित्रद्रोहश्च॒ तानि घट्‌,विदुरजी बोले--राजन्‌! आपका कल्याण हो। अत्यन्त अभिमान, अधिक बोलना, त्यागका अभाव, क्रोध, अपना ही पेट पालनेकी चिन्ता और मित्रद्रोह--ये छः: तीखी तलवारें देहधारियोंकी आयुको काटती हैं। ये ही मनुष्योंका वध करती हैं, मृत्यु नहीं

Transliteration

vidura uvāca | atimāno ’tivādaś ca tathātyāgo narādhipa | krodhaś cātmavidhitsā ca mitradrohaś ca tāni ṣaṭ |

Translation

Vidura dit : « Ô roi, puisse-tout t’être favorable. L’orgueil excessif, la parole excessive, le refus de renoncer à ce qu’il faut renoncer, la colère, l’angoisse de s’assurer sa subsistance à n’importe quel prix, et la trahison des amis — ces six choses sont comme des épées tranchantes qui coupent la durée de vie des êtres incarnés. Ce sont elles qui tuent vraiment les hommes, non la Mort elle-même. »

Word by Word

• {'vidura uvāca': 'Vidura said', 'atimāna': 'overweening pride, arrogance', 'ativāda': 'excessive speech

• talking too much/too harshly', 'tathā': 'and likewise', 'atyāga': 'non-renunciation

• miserliness/withholding', 'narādhipa': 'O ruler of men

• king', 'krodha': 'anger', 'ātma-vidhitsā': 'self-serving anxiety/intent to secure oneself

• concern for one’s own maintenance at the expense of dharma', 'mitra-droha': 'treachery toward a friend

• betrayal of allies', 'tāni': 'those', 'ṣaṭ': 'six'}

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• narādhipa (the king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura teaches that inner vices—arrogance, uncontrolled speech, refusal to renounce, anger, selfish self-preservation, and betrayal of friends—destroy a person’s life and welfare more surely than external fate; ethical self-mastery is the real protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels the blind king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) with moral instruction (nīti), warning him that certain destructive traits within a ruler and his circle lead to ruin, especially in the tense lead-up to war.