Shloka 36
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
सूक्ष्मोडपि भार नृपते स्यन्दनो वै शक्तो वोढुं न तथान्ये महीजा: । एवं युक्ता भारसहा भवन्ति महाकुलीना न तथान्ये मनुष्या:
sūkṣmo 'pi bhāra nṛpate syandano vai śakto voḍhuṃ na tathānye mahījāḥ | evaṃ yuktā bhārasahā bhavanti mahākulīnā na tathānye manuṣyāḥ ||
ヴィドゥラは言った。「王よ、小さな車であっても荷を運ぶ力がある。だが他の木材は、たとえ大きくとも同じようには運べぬ。これと同じく、高貴な家に生まれた者は—鍛錬され、正しく整えられていれば—重い責務を担うことができる。ほかの人々はそうではない。」
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Capacity is not determined by outward size or show; it comes from proper training and inner fitness. Likewise, true nobility is proven by disciplined readiness to bear responsibility, not merely by external status.
In Vidura’s counsel to the king during the Udyoga Parva, he uses a practical analogy—small chariot versus large wood—to urge the ruler to value disciplined, capable persons who can carry the weight of duty, especially in a time of political crisis.