Shloka 1
हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः
Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace
पम्प बछ। अंक सप्तत्रिशोड्ध्याय: धृतराष्ट्रके प्रति विदुरजीका हितोपदेश विदुर उवाच सप्तदशेमान् राजेन्द्र मनु: स्वायम्भुवोडब्रवीत् | वैचित्रवीर्य पुरुषानाकाशं मुष्टिभिर्ष्नत:
vidura uvāca | saptadaśemān rājendra manuḥ svāyambhuvo 'bravīt | vaicitravīrya-puruṣān ākāśaṁ muṣṭibhir ghnataḥ | anāmyaṁ varṣākālīndra-dhanuṣaṁ nāmayituṁ ceṣṭamānān | agrāhyāḥ sūrya-raśmīn grahītuṁ prayatamānān iti |
毗度罗曰：“大王，毗奇多罗毗利耶之后！自生摩奴曾言十七类人，其所为皆徒劳：如以拳击天，如欲弯折雨季之因陀罗虹而不可弯，如欲攫取不可执之日光。言其所谋注定败亡，明君当识此等自取其败之途。”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura warns that some pursuits are inherently futile—like punching the sky or grasping sunrays. A ruler should discern what cannot be achieved by force or stubbornness and avoid wasting effort on impossible or self-defeating aims.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Here he cites Svāyambhuva Manu’s classification of ‘seventeen kinds of men’ whose actions are fruitless, using vivid metaphors to urge practical wisdom and ethical governance.