Shloka 20
हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः
Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace
उक्त मया द्यूतकाले5पि राजन् नेदं युक्ते वचन प्रातिपेय । तदौषध॑ पथ्यमिवातुरस्य न रोचते तव वैचित्रवीर्य
uktam mayā dyūtakāle 'pi rājan nedaṁ yuktaṁ vacanaṁ prātīpeya | tad auṣadhaṁ pathyam ivāturasya na rocate tava vaiśitravīrya-pratīpanandana ||
ਹੇ ਰਾਜਨ, ਜੂਏ ਦੇ ਵੇਲੇ ਵੀ ਮੈਂ ਕਿਹਾ ਸੀ—‘ਇਹ ਰਾਹ ਠੀਕ ਨਹੀਂ; ਇਹ ਬਚਨ ਮੰਨੋ।’ ਪਰ ਜਿਵੇਂ ਰੋਗੀ ਨੂੰ ਦਵਾਈ ਅਤੇ ਪਥ੍ਯ ਚੰਗੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੱਗਦੇ, ਤਿਵੇਂ, ਹੇ ਵਿਚਿਤ੍ਰਵੀਰ੍ਯ-ਪੁੱਤਰ, ਪ੍ਰਤੀਪ ਵੰਸ਼ ਦੇ ਆਨੰਦ, ਮੇਰੀ ਸਲਾਹ ਵੀ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਚੰਗੀ ਨਾ ਲੱਗੀ।
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wise counsel aligned with dharma may feel unpleasant to those afflicted by attachment and error; like medicine to a patient, it is beneficial even when it is not liked. A ruler must accept corrective advice, especially when actions lead toward adharma and ruin.
Vidura reminds King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that he had warned him already at the outset of the dice-game that it was improper. Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not accept that warning, and Vidura compares the king’s resistance to a sick person rejecting medicine and a healthy regimen.