Shloka 70

Devanagari script

धनेनाधर्मलब्धेन यच्छिद्रमपिधीयते । असंवृतं तद्‌ भवति ततो<न्यदवदीर्यते,अधर्मसे प्राप्त हुए धनके द्वारा जो दोष छिपाया जाता है, वह तो छिपता नहीं; (परंतु दोष छिपानेके कारण) उससे भिन्न और नया दोष प्रकट हो जाता है

Transliteration

dhanenādharmalabdhena yac chidram apidhīyate | asaṁvṛtaṁ tad bhavati tato 'nyad avadīryate ||

Translation

Vidura dạy rằng: dùng của cải kiếm được bằng phi nghĩa để che đậy một lỗi lầm thì lỗi ấy chẳng hề được giấu kín. Trái lại, chính việc che đậy làm sự việc lộ ra và nảy sinh một điều sai trái mới—khiến một tội trở thành hạt giống của tội khác.

Word by Word

धनेनby/with wealth

अधर्म-लब्धेनobtained through unrighteousness

यत्which (thing)

छिद्रम्a flaw, defect

अपिeven, also

धी-यतेis covered/closed

अ-संवृतम्uncovered, not concealed

तत्that (defect/thing)

भवतिbecomes, is

ततःthereupon, from that

अन्यत्another (new thing)

अवदीर्यतेis torn open/splits forth, appears

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Trying to conceal wrongdoing with wealth acquired by unrighteous means fails: the original fault remains exposed, and the act of concealment itself generates a new fault—adharma multiplies when used as its own remedy.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers moral counsel in the tense pre-war context, warning against unethical strategies and the self-defeating cycle of using corrupt resources to manage reputational or practical problems.