Shloka 26

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 123 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa–Vidura Upadeśa to Duryodhana

Keśava-vākya aftermath

Devanagari script

सतां मतमतिक्रम्य योअ्सतां वर्तते मते । शोचन्ते व्यसने तस्य सुहदो नचिरादिव

Transliteration

satāṁ matam atikramya yo 'satāṁ vartate mate | śocante vyasane tasya suhṛdo na cirād iva ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Barang siapa melangkahi nasihat orang berbudi lalu mengikuti pendapat orang tidak berbudi—apabila malapetaka menimpanya, para sahabat yang menginginkannya baik akan segera berdukacita, seolah-olah bencana itu menimpa diri mereka sendiri.

Word by Word

सताम्of the good (virtuous people)

मतम्opinion, view

अतिक्रम्यhaving transgressed, having overstepped

यःwho

असताम्of the wicked (non-virtuous people)

वर्ततेacts, behaves, follows

मतेin the opinion/view (i.e., according to the view)

शोचन्तेgrieve, lament

व्यसनेin misfortune, in calamity

तस्यof him

सुहृदःfriends, well-wishers

नnot

चिरात्after a long time; long

इवas if, like

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

suhṛdaḥ (well-wishers/friends)

satāṁ (the virtuous)

asatāṁ (the unvirtuous)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Disregarding the guidance of the virtuous and choosing the counsel of the unvirtuous leads to ruin; such a fall does not harm only the wrongdoer—his true friends and well-wishers also suffer grief quickly, showing the social and moral ripple-effect of adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a reflective, ethical observation within the Udyoga Parva’s atmosphere of counsel and decision-making before war: choices about whose advice to follow determine outcomes, and when a person follows bad counsel, impending disaster causes sorrow even to those who care for him.