Shloka 3
अध्याय ३९: विदुरेण धृतराष्ट्राय नीत्युपदेशः
Timely Counsel, Association, and Kin-Duty
अनृते च समुत्कर्षो राजगामि च पैशुनम् । गुरोश्वनालीकनिर्बन्ध: समानि ब्रह्महत्यया
anṛte ca samutkarṣo rājagāmi ca paiśunam | guroś cānālīka-nirbandhaḥ samāni brahmahatyayā ||
Meninggikan diri dengan kebohongan, mengadu-domba hingga sampai ke telinga raja, dan bersikeras mempertahankan ketidakbenaran bahkan dalam perkara yang menyangkut guru—semuanya setara dengan dosa membunuh seorang brāhmaṇa.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that speech-based wrongs—boasting founded on lies, malicious slander that influences royal judgment, and stubbornly clinging to an untruth (even in relation to one’s teacher)—can be as spiritually and socially ruinous as the gravest sin, brahmahatyā. Truthful, restrained speech is presented as essential to dharma.
In Udyoga Parva’s counsel-setting, Vidura is instructing and admonishing about conduct before the great conflict. He highlights how courtly environments amplify the harm of rumor and falsehood—especially when words reach the king—and he underscores the sanctity of truthful dealings with one’s guru.