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,इस समय आप अन्तिम अवस्था (बुढ़ापे)-में स्थित हैं। ऐसी स्थितिमें आप जो कुछ कह रहे हैं, वह शास्त्रसे अथवा लौकिक युक्तिसे भी ठीक ही है। इस सुस्थिर विचारके कारण ही आप वास्तवमें स्थविर (वृद्ध) हैं

Transliteration

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

Translation

Vidura thưa: “Vì bệ hạ đang ở chặng cuối của đời người, nên lời bệ hạ nói trong hoàn cảnh này quả thật vững đúng—dù dựa trên śāstra hay trên lẽ đời sáng tỏ. Chính bởi sự phán đoán kiên định ấy mà bệ hạ mới thật sự là ‘sthavira’, bậc trưởng lão theo nghĩa chân thực.”

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.