Shloka 23
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
विदुर उवाच तपो दमो ब्रह्मवित्तं विताना: पुण्या विवाहा: सततान्नदानम् | येष्वेवैते सप्त गुणा वसन्ति सम्यग्वृत्तास्तानि महाकुलानि
vidura uvāca—tapo damo brahmavittaṃ vitānāḥ puṇyā vivāhāḥ satatānna-dānam | yeṣv evaite sapta guṇā vasanti samyag-vṛttās tāni mahā-kulāni ||
Vidura berkata: “Wahai Raja, keluarga-keluarga yang di dalamnya sungguh bersemayam tujuh kebajikan ini—tapa (disiplin asketis), pengendalian diri, pengetahuan Veda dan Brahman, pemeliharaan upacara yajña, pernikahan yang suci dan sah, pemberian makanan tanpa henti, serta perilaku yang lurus—merekalah yang patut disebut mahākula, garis keturunan mulia.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nobility of birth is validated by lived virtues: discipline, self-restraint, Vedic/Brahman-knowledge, sustaining sacred rites, pure marriage practices, continual food-charity, and upright conduct. A ‘great family’ is defined ethically, not merely by ancestry.
In Vidura’s counsel to the king during the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war deliberations, he sets a moral standard for what counts as true high lineage, redirecting attention from pride of birth to dharmic behavior and public-minded virtue.