Shloka 28
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
कुलानि समुपेतानि गोभि: पुरुषतो<र्थतः । कुलसंख्यां न गच्छन्ति यानि हीनानि वृत्तत:,गौओं, मनुष्यों और धनसे सम्पन्न होकर भी जो कुल सदाचारसे हीन हैं, वे अच्छे कुलोंकी गणनामें नहीं आ सकते
kulāni samupetāni gobhiḥ puruṣato'rthataḥ | kulasaṅkhyāṃ na gacchanti yāni hīnāni vṛttataḥ ||
गायी, पुरुषबळ आणि धन यांनी संपन्न असले तरी जे कुळ सदाचाराने हीन आहेत, ती श्रेष्ठ कुळांच्या गणनेत येत नाहीत.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True nobility of a lineage is determined by vṛtta (ethical conduct), not by external assets like cattle, manpower, or wealth; prosperity without sadācāra does not qualify a family as genuinely ‘good’ or respectable.
In the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting, Vidura instructs the Kuru court on dharma and statecraft; here he emphasizes that social honor and ‘good family’ status rest on moral behavior rather than material abundance.