Shloka 11

हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः

Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace

Devanagari script

एत एवासयस्तीक्ष्णा कृन्तन्त्यायूंषि देहिनाम्‌ एतानि मानवान्‌ घ्नन्ति न मृत्युर्भद्रमस्तु ते,विदुरजी बोले--राजन्‌! आपका कल्याण हो। अत्यन्त अभिमान, अधिक बोलना, त्यागका अभाव, क्रोध, अपना ही पेट पालनेकी चिन्ता और मित्रद्रोह--ये छः: तीखी तलवारें देहधारियोंकी आयुको काटती हैं। ये ही मनुष्योंका वध करती हैं, मृत्यु नहीं

Transliteration

eta evāsayās tīkṣṇāḥ kṛntanty āyūṃṣi dehinām | etāni mānavān ghnanti na mṛtyur bhadram astu te ||

Translation

Sabi ni Vidura: “O Hari, nawa’y mapabuti ka. Ang mga ‘talim’ na ito—ang mga bisyong nasa loob—ang pumuputol sa haba ng buhay ng may katawan. Sila ang tunay na pumapatay sa tao, hindi ang Kamatayan mismo.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'etaḥ', 'definition': 'these'}, {'term': 'eva', 'definition': 'indeed

• precisely'}, {'term': 'āsayāḥ (āśayāḥ)', 'definition': 'dispositions, inner tendencies

• here: harmful vices (as ‘blades’)'}, {'term': 'tīkṣṇāḥ', 'definition': 'sharp, keen'}, {'term': 'kṛntanti', 'definition': 'they cut, sever'}, {'term': 'āyūṃṣi', 'definition': 'lifespans, vital years'}, {'term': 'dehinām', 'definition': 'of embodied beings'}, {'term': 'etāni', 'definition': 'these (same)'}, {'term': 'mānavān', 'definition': 'human beings'}, {'term': 'ghnanti', 'definition': 'they kill, destroy'}, {'term': 'na', 'definition': 'not'}, {'term': 'mṛtyuḥ', 'definition': 'Death (personified)'}, {'term': 'bhadram astu te', 'definition': 'may good be yours

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• King (Dhritarashtra implied)
• Death (Mṛtyu, personified)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura teaches that moral and psychological vices are more destructive than external fate: they ‘cut’ one’s life-force and ruin a person from within, so self-mastery and ethical restraint are the true safeguards.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels the Kuru king (implicitly Dhṛtarāṣṭra) during the tense pre-war negotiations, warning that inner faults—not an inevitable ‘Death’—bring downfall to individuals and kingdoms.