Shloka 92
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
स्त्रियो$क्षा मृगया पानं वाक्पारुष्यं च पञजचमम् | महच्च दण्डपारुष्यमर्थदूषणमेव च
striyo ’kṣā mṛgayā pānaṁ vāk-pāruṣyaṁ ca pañcamam | mahac ca daṇḍa-pāruṣyam artha-dūṣaṇam eva ca ||
Vidura berkata: Kemelekatan pada perempuan, judi, berburu, minum minuman memabukkan, (sebagai yang kelima) ucapan yang kasar, kekejaman berlebihan dalam menghukum, serta penodaan/penyalahgunaan harta—itulah tujuh cela pembawa duka yang harus selalu ditinggalkan oleh seorang raja.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must renounce seven destructive vices—sensual indulgence, gambling, hunting, intoxication, harsh speech, cruel punishment, and financial corruption—because they erode judgment, justice, and public trust, leading even stable kingdoms toward ruin.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel on statecraft and dharma, warning the ruler about specific habits that destabilize governance and invite downfall, as part of his broader ethical instruction before the great conflict.