Shloka 5
Vidura-nīti: Atithi-dharma, Trust, Counsel-Secrecy, and Traits of Sustainable Rule
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 38
उक्त मया जातमात्रेडपि राजन् दुर्योधन त्यज पुत्र त्वमेकम् । तस्य त्यागात् पुत्रशतस्य वृद्धि- रस्यात्यागात् पुत्रशतस्यथ नाश:,राजन! दुर्योधनके जन्म लेते ही मैंने कहा था कि केवल इसी एक पुत्रको आप त्याग दें। इसके त्यागसे सौ पुत्रोंकी वृद्धि होगी और इसका त्याग न करनेसे सौ पुत्रोंका नाश होगा
uktaṃ mayā jātamātre ’pi rājan duryodhana tyaja putra tvam ekam | tasya tyāgāt putraśatasya vṛddhir asyātyāgāt putraśatasya atha nāśaḥ ||
ヴィドゥラは言った。「王よ、ドゥルヨーダナが生まれたその瞬間に、私は申したのです――この一人の子だけは捨てなさい。彼を捨てれば百人の子は栄え、捨てねばその百人の子は滅びに至るでしょう。」
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that a ruler must place dharma and the welfare of the many above personal attachment. Tolerating a single destructive influence out of favoritism can bring ruin upon an entire lineage; timely renunciation of adharma preserves the greater good.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels King Dhṛtarāṣṭra during the escalating conflict with the Pāṇḍavas. He recalls an earlier warning given at Duryodhana’s birth: if the king had abandoned that one son, the rest would have prospered; by keeping him, the king set the stage for the Kauravas’ collective downfall.