Shloka 1
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
ऑपन-माज बछ। अफि्-"ऋा - यज्ञोपवीतहीन पिताका पुत्र
vidura uvāca | atraivodāharantīmam itihāsaṁ purātanam | ātreyasya ca saṁvādaṁ sādhyānāṁ ceti naḥ śrutam ||
Vidura berkata: “Wahai Raja, dalam perkara ini orang-orang menukil sebuah kisah purba sebagai teladan—dialog Dattātreya (Ātreya) dengan para dewa Sādhya. Demikianlah yang kami dengar turun-temurun.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura frames his ethical counsel by appealing to authoritative tradition: he will support his argument with an ancient exemplary narrative (itihāsa), implying that dharma is clarified through time-tested precedents and the testimony of the wise.
Vidura begins a new section of instruction to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra by introducing a well-known old story—described as a dialogue between Dattātreya (Ātreya) and the Sādhya gods—which he says is part of what has been heard in tradition.