Shloka 44
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
धन हो या न हो, मित्रोंसे कुछ भी न माँगते हुए उनका सत्कार तो करे ही। मित्रोंके सार-असारकी परीक्षा न करे ।।
santāpād bhraśyate rūpaṃ santāpād bhraśyate balam | santāpād bhraśyate jñānaṃ santāpād vyādhim ṛcchati ||
ヴィドゥラは教える。財があろうとなかろうと、友には何も求めず敬意を尽くし、友の「真価」や「空しさ」を試してはならぬ。なぜなら憂いと胸の煎りは人を蝕むからだ。憂いによって容色と落ち着きは損なわれ、憂いによって力は衰え、憂いによって分別は失われ、憂いによってついには病に至る。
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura warns that sustained grief (santāpa) is not merely an emotion but a destructive force: it diminishes one’s appearance and composure, weakens bodily strength, clouds judgment, and can culminate in illness. Therefore one should master sorrow rather than be mastered by it.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers moral counsel (nīti) amid the tense pre-war negotiations and family crisis. This verse is part of his instruction emphasizing inner steadiness and practical wisdom, showing how emotional turmoil undermines the ability to act dharmically.