Shloka 71

Devanagari script

गुरुरात्मवतां शास्ता शास्ता राजा दुरात्मनाम्‌ | अथ प्रच्छन्नपापानां शास्ता वैवस्चतो यम:,अपने मन और इन्द्रियोंको वशमें करनेवाले शिष्योंके शासक गुरु हैं, दुष्टोंके शासक राजा हैं और छिपे-छिपे पाप करनेवालोंके शासक सूर्यपुत्र यमराज हैं

Transliteration

gurur ātmavatāṁ śāstā śāstā rājā durātmanām | atha pracchannapāpānāṁ śāstā vaivasvato yamaḥ ||

Translation

毗度罗教诲：约束与惩戒各有其层次。对能制伏心意与诸根的自律弟子，师长（Guru）是正当的引导与规训者；对凶恶之徒，国王是外在权威，用以遏止非行；而对暗中作罪者，阎摩（Yama）——日神毗婆斯瓦特（Vivasvat）之子——乃不可逃避的终极裁判。其义在于：问责无可遁形；若不为内在自律或世间法度所制，终仍要面对宇宙正义。

Word by Word

गुरुःteacher, guru

आत्मवताम्of the self-controlled (those possessing self-mastery)

शास्ताruler, chastiser, governor

शास्ताruler, chastiser

राजाking

दुरात्मनाम्of the wicked (evil-souled)

अथand then / moreover

प्रच्छन्नपापानाम्of those whose sins are concealed / of concealed-sinners

शास्ताruler, chastiser

वैवस्वतःVaivasvata (son of Vivasvat/Sun), i.e., Yama

यमःYama (lord of death)

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Guru

Raja (King)

Yama

Vivasvat (Surya)

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?

Different kinds of people are corrected by different authorities: the self-controlled are guided by the guru, the openly wicked are restrained by the king’s law, and secret sinners are judged by Yama—so moral accountability cannot be escaped.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura is delivering ethical counsel (nīti) in the Udyoga Parva context, emphasizing to the royal audience that social order and dharma are upheld through inner discipline, political authority, and ultimately divine/cosmic justice.