Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
ब्राह्मणेषु च ये शूरा: स्त्रीषु ज्ञातिषु गोषु च वृन्तादिव फलं पक्वं धृतराष्ट्र पतन्ति ते
brāhmaṇeṣu ca ye śūrāḥ strīṣu jñātiṣu goṣu ca | vṛntādiva phalaṃ pakvaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭra patanti te ||
ヴィドゥラは持国王に警告した。「バラモン、女、身内の親族、牛といった無防備な者にのみ『勇』を誇示する者は、真の勇者ではない。熟した果が柄から落ちるように、そのような者は必ずや名誉と安定、そしてダルマにかなう正しい立場から転落する。」
विदुर उवाच
Real valor is measured by restraint and righteousness, not by aggression toward the weak or protected classes. Those who bully Brahmins, women, relatives, or cattle invite inevitable moral and social collapse—symbolized by ripe fruit falling from its stalk.
In Vidura’s counsel to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra during the tense pre-war negotiations, Vidura criticizes the Kaurava side’s unethical displays of power and warns that such adharma leads to downfall.