Shloka 40
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma
मातोवाच किमद्यकानां ये लोका द्विषन्तस्तानवाप्नुयु: । ये त्वादृतात्मनां लोका: सुहृदस्तान् व्रजन्तु नः
putra uvāca: mātovāca kim adyakānāṁ ye lokā dviṣantas tān avāpnuyuḥ | ye tv ādaritātmanāṁ lokāḥ suhṛdas tān vrajantu naḥ ||
母は言った。「『今日は何を食べようか』と日々の飢えと貧しさに心を囚われる者どもの行く世界は、われらの敵にくれてやれ。われらに好意を寄せる友は、遍く敬われる徳ある者——高貴なる魂の世界へ赴かんことを。」
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts a life reduced to anxious concern for mere subsistence with the ideal of honorable, respected virtue. It implies that fixation on ‘What will we eat today?’ is spiritually degrading, while noble conduct and self-respect lead to higher ‘worlds’ (better destinies) for oneself and one’s well-wishers.
In the Vidulā episode, the son reports (or echoes) the mother’s sharp, provocative words. She uses a blessing-and-curse formulation: let the miserable fate of hunger-bound living go to enemies, while friends attain the realms of honored, virtuous people—thereby urging her son toward courage, dignity, and purposeful action.