Shloka 21
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)
प्रसादो निष्फलो यस्य क्रोधश्चापि निरर्थक: । न तं भर्तारमिच्छन्ति षण्ढं पतिमिव स्त्रिय:,जिसकी प्रसन्नताका कोई फल नहीं और क्रोध भी व्यर्थ है, उसको प्रजा स्वामी बनाना नहीं चाहती--जैसे स्त्री नपुंसकको पति नहीं बनाना चाहती
prasādo niṣphalo yasya krodhaścāpi nirarthakaḥ | na taṃ bhartāram icchanti ṣaṇḍhaṃ patim iva striyaḥ ||
毗度罗说：君主若其恩宠无所裨益，其震怒亦无所惩戒，百姓便不愿奉之为主——正如女子不择无能之人为夫。其义在于：权威须有分量；赏当劝善与效劳，罚当遏恶与犯禁；否则王权空虚，徒招轻蔑。
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Leadership must have effective incentives and deterrents: a ruler’s favor should produce tangible protection or reward, and his anger (punishment) should meaningfully restrain misconduct. If both are ineffective, subjects lose respect and do not accept him as their protector.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel on statecraft and dharma in the tense lead-up to war. Here he characterizes a weak, ineffectual lord—whose rewards and punishments do not function—as unfit to be accepted by the people.