Shloka 2

कृष्ण-दूतविषये दुर्योधनस्य बन्धन-प्रस्तावः — Duryodhana’s Proposal to Detain Krishna

Envoy-Ethics Debate

Devanagari script

यत्‌ त्वमेवंगते ब्रूया: पश्चिमे वयसि स्थित: । शास्त्राद्‌ वा सुप्रतर्काद्‌ वा सुस्थिर: स्थविरो हासि

Transliteration

yat tvam evaṃgate brūyāḥ paścime vayasi sthitaḥ | śāstrād vā supratarkād vā susthiraḥ sthaviro hāsi ||

Translation

เพราะพระองค์ทรงยืนอยู่ในบั้นปลายแห่งชีวิต สิ่งที่พระองค์ตรัสในยามนี้ย่อมถูกต้องแท้—ไม่ว่าจะอาศัยศาสตระหรือเหตุผลทางโลกอันแจ่มชัด และด้วยความมั่นคงแห่งดุลยพินิจนี้เอง พระองค์จึงเป็น ‘สถวิระ’ คือผู้เฒ่าโดยความหมายแท้จริง

Word by Word

• {'yat': 'that which

• what', 'tvam': 'you', 'evaṃ-gate': 'in such a situation

• when matters have come to this pass', 'brūyāḥ': 'you say

• you speak', 'paścime': 'last

• final', 'vayasi': 'in age

• in the stage of life', 'sthitaḥ': 'standing

• situated', 'śāstrāt': 'from scripture

• on the authority of śāstra', 'vā': 'or', 'su-pratarkāt': 'from excellent reasoning

• well-argued logic', 'su-sthiraḥ': 'very steady

• firmly settled (in judgment)', 'sthaviraḥ': 'elder

• venerable person', 'ha': 'indeed

• surely (emphatic particle)', 'asi': 'you are'}

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True elderhood is not merely biological age but steadiness of discernment; sound counsel is validated both by śāstra (scriptural authority) and by tarka (clear reasoning).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura addresses an older interlocutor, affirming that the person’s words—spoken in a grave, late-life context—are reliable and well-founded, and praising the stability of their judgment as the mark of a genuine elder.