Shloka 28
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma
नेदृशं बन्धुमासाद्य बान्धव: सुखमेधते । जिस दुर्बल मनुष्यका शत्रुपक्षेके लोग अभिनन्दन करते हों
nedṛśaṃ bandhum āsādya bāndhavaḥ sukham edhate |
このような親族を得ても、身内は真の幸福に栄えることはない。敵方の一党にさえ喝采され、万人に侮られ、座も衣も最下の品で、わずかな利に驚いて満足し、あらゆる点で卑小にして矮小、心根も卑しい—そのような「親族」は支えとなるどころか恥と苦患の因となる。ゆえに一族は彼によって栄えない。
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A family’s welfare depends not merely on having relatives, but on their character and conduct. An unworthy, servile, and contemptible kinsman—content with paltry gains and lacking dignity—brings no real support or happiness to his own people.
Vāyudeva is describing, in admonitory terms, the kind of person whose presence as a ‘relative’ becomes a liability. The verse functions as a moral characterization within the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, where virtues and failings are weighed before decisive action.