Shloka 19

Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 62 — Duryodhana’s Claim of Victory and Vidura’s Allegories on Discord and Risk

Devanagari script

अभयं यस्य भूतेभ्य: सर्वेषामभयं यत: । स वै परिणतप्रज्ञ: प्रख्यातो मनुजोत्तम:,जिसे समस्त प्राणियोंसे निर्भयता प्राप्त हो गयी हो तथा जिससे सभी प्राणियोंका भय दूर हो गया हो, वह परिपक्व बुद्धिवाला पुरुष मनुष्योंमें श्रेष्ठ कहा गया है

Transliteration

abhayaṁ yasya bhūtebhyaḥ sarveṣām abhayaṁ yataḥ | sa vai pariṇataprajñaḥ prakhyāto manujottamaḥ ||

Translation

എല്ലാ ജീവികളോടും ഭയരഹിതനായും, തന്റെ സാന്നിധ്യത്താൽ എല്ലാ ജീവികൾക്കും അഭയം ലഭിക്കുമാറും ഉള്ളവൻ— അവനെയാണ് പരിപക്വപ്രജ്ഞൻ, പ്രസിദ്ധൻ, മനുഷ്യരിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠൻ എന്നു വിളിക്കുന്നത്.

Word by Word

अभयम्fearlessness, absence of fear

यस्यof whom/whose

भूतेभ्यःfrom beings/creatures

सर्वेषाम्of all

अभयम्fearlessness, safety

यतःfrom whom/from which

सःhe

वैindeed, surely

परिणतप्रज्ञःone of matured/fully developed understanding

प्रख्यातःrenowned, declared

मनुजोत्तमःbest of men

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

bhūtāni (all beings)

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?

A truly superior person is recognized by the fearlessness he embodies and the safety he provides: he neither fears others nor becomes a cause of fear to any being. Ripened wisdom expresses itself as protection, restraint, and compassion.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers moral counsel (nīti) amid the rising crisis leading to war. Here he defines the hallmark of the best human being as one whose conduct makes all creatures feel secure, implicitly advising rulers and decision-makers to abandon intimidation and uphold dharma through protection.