Shloka 15
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 34 — Vidura’s Counsel on Deliberation, Speech-Discipline, and Dharmic Kingship
विरोचन उवाच तवा्हते तु फलकं कूर्च वाप्यथवा बृसी । सुधन्वन् न त्वमहोंडसि मया सह समासनम्
virocana uvāca | tavārhate tu phalakaṃ kūrca vāpy athavā bṛsī | sudhanvan na tvam ahoṇḍasi mayā saha samāsanam ||
毗卢遮那说道：“你只配坐矮凳、坐席，甚至坐一束拘舍草的座位。苏檀梵啊，你根本不配与我同席而坐。”
विरोचन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how arrogance and contempt expressed through speech—especially by denying another equal dignity (‘not worthy of the same seat’)—is ethically blameworthy and can escalate conflict; proper conduct (dharma) includes restraint, respect, and measured speech.
Virocana addresses Sudhanvan with open disdain, saying that Sudhanvan deserves only an inferior seat (stool/mat/grass seat) and is unfit to sit on an equal seat with him, thereby asserting superiority and humiliating him.