Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
येषां हि वृत्तं व्यथते न योनि- श्षित्तप्रसादेन चरन्ति धर्मम् । ते कीर्तिमिच्छन्ति कुले विशिष्टां त्यक्तानृतास्तानि महाकुलानि
yeṣāṃ hi vṛttaṃ vyathate na yoni-ś citta-prasādena caranti dharmam | te kīrtim icchanti kule viśiṣṭāṃ tyaktānṛtās tāni mahākulāni ||
ヴィドゥラは言う。「善き行いが緩まず、己の過ちによって父母を苦しめず、澄みわたる心でダルマを実践し、偽りを捨てて一族の格別の名誉を求める—そのような家々こそ、真に偉大で高貴な家系である。」
विदुर उवाच
True nobility is defined by steady good conduct, not harming one’s parents through one’s faults, practicing dharma with a calm mind, and renouncing falsehood; such virtues alone make a lineage genuinely ‘great.’
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers moral counsel (nīti) in the tense pre-war context, emphasizing ethical standards and inner discipline as the real markers of high birth and lasting reputation.