Shloka 17
Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 62 — Duryodhana’s Claim of Victory and Vidura’s Allegories on Discord and Risk
अलोलुपस्तथाल्पेप्सु: कामानामविचिन्तिता । समुद्रकल्प: पुरुष: स दान्त: परिकीर्तित:
alolupas tathālpepsuḥ kāmānām avicintitā | samudrakalpaḥ puruṣaḥ sa dāntaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||
विदुर कहते हैं— जो निर्लोभ है, अल्पेच्छा वाला है, विषय-भोगों के चिन्तन में नहीं पड़ता और समुद्र के समान गम्भीर है— वही पुरुष ‘दान्त’ (इन्द्रियसंयमी) कहा गया है।
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True self-mastery (dānta) is marked by freedom from greed, minimal craving, and refusal to mentally indulge in sense-pleasures; such restraint produces ocean-like depth and steadiness that supports dharmic living.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-setting, Vidura is instructing on ethical qualities. Here he defines the ‘dānta’ person—one fit for righteous decision-making amid the tensions leading toward the Kurukṣetra conflict.