Shloka 31

Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma

Devanagari script

मा धूमाय ज्वलात्यन्तमाक्रम्य जहि शात्रवान्‌

Transliteration

mā dhūmāya jvalātyantam ākramya jahi śātravān

Translation

محض دھوئیں سے مرعوب نہ ہو؛ بھڑکتی ہوئی آگ میں قدم بڑھا کر دشمنوں کو تہس نہس کر دے۔

Word by Word

• मा: do not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा
• Form: Prohibitive particle used with imperative/optative

• धूमाय: for smoke / to smoke
• धूमाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धूम
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• ज्वल: burn; blaze
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्वल्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अत्यन्तम्: excessively; utterly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यन्त
• Form: Adverb

• आक्रम्य: having attacked; having advanced upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-क्रम्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), indeclinable

• जहि: slay; kill
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शात्रवान्: enemies
• शात्रवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शात्रव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu-deva
• enemies (śātravāḥ)
• smoke (dhūma)
• flame/fire (jvalā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not be deterred by obscuring, secondary threats (like smoke); confront the real danger directly with courage and purposeful action, especially when duty requires decisive resistance to hostility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva delivers a forceful exhortation to advance rather than hesitate—urging the hearer to push through confusion and fear and to defeat the enemies with determined effort.