Shloka 43

Sanatsujāta-Āhvāna (Summoning Sanatsujāta) — Vidura’s Invocation and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Doubt

Devanagari script

अधर्मनिपुणा मूढा लोके मायाविशारदा: । न मान्यं मानयिष्यन्ति मान्यानामवमानिन:,किंतु इस संसारमें जो अधर्ममें निपुण, छल-कपटमें चतुर और माननीय पुरुषोंका अपमान करनेवाले मूढ़ मनुष्य हैं, वे आदरणीय व्यक्तियोंका भी आदर नहीं करते

Transliteration

adharmanipuṇā mūḍhā loke māyāviśāradāḥ | na mānyaṃ mānayiṣyanti mānyānām avamānināḥ ||

Translation

ഈ ലോകത്തിൽ അധർമ്മത്തിൽ നിപുണരും ബുദ്ധിയിൽ മോഹിതരുമായും വഞ്ചനയിൽ പ്രാവീണ്യമുള്ളവരുമായ—മാന്യരെ അപമാനിക്കാൻ പതിവുള്ള മൂഢർ—യഥാർത്ഥത്തിൽ മാനിക്കേണ്ടവരെയും മാനിക്കുന്നില്ല.

Word by Word

अधर्मनिपुणाःskilled in unrighteousness

मूढाःdeluded, foolish

लोकेin the world

मायाविशारदाःexpert in deceit/illusion

नnot

मान्यम्one who is to be honored / the honorable (object of respect)

मानयिष्यन्तिthey will honor / will show respect

मान्यानाम्of the honorable (persons)

अवमानिनःdisrespecters, those who insult

Speaker

सनत्युजात उवाच

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Those trained in adharma and deception lose the disposition to recognize and honor genuine worth; contempt for the honorable becomes a stable habit, showing that ethical decline corrupts both judgment and conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sanatsujāta’s instruction (within the Udyoga Parva context of counsel before the great war), he diagnoses the mindset of adharma-driven people: they are clever in deceit yet morally deluded, and therefore they refuse to respect even truly respectable persons.