Shloka 16
Adhyāya 59: Vidura’s Admonition to Duryodhana after the Summons of Draupadī (सभा पर्व)
अकृतान्त्र कृतास्त्रश्न दुर्बलं बलवत्तर: । एवं कर्मसु सर्वेषु निकृत्यैव युधिष्ठिर । विद्वानविदुषो5भ्येति नाहुस्तां निकृतिं जना:
akṛtāntro kṛtāstraś ca durbalaṁ balavattaraḥ | evaṁ karmasu sarveṣu nikṛtyaiva yudhiṣṭhira | vidvān aviduṣo ’bhyeti nāhus tāṁ nikṛtiṁ janāḥ ||
强者往往以纯粹的诡计压倒弱者——正如未受训练的斗士，可能想用欺诈去战胜精通兵器之人。同样，在一切事务上，博学者常以谋略胜过无知者；然而世人却不称之为“欺骗”，哦，尤提士提罗。
युधिषछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral ambiguity: society often normalizes ‘strategic’ advantage when the learned or powerful outmaneuver the unlearned, even if the method resembles deceit. It invites reflection on when cleverness becomes unethical trickery and how public opinion can excuse it.
In the Sabha Parva’s courtly context—where policy, rivalry, and manipulation are central—Yudhiṣṭhira voices a pointed observation about how victories are frequently achieved: not only by strength or skill, but by stratagem, which people may refuse to label as deceit when it benefits the ‘superior’ party.