Prajagara Parva — The principles of morality explained by Vidura

Vidura said O chief among kings, Manu, the descendant of the self-create. Being, has spoken of the following seventeen kinds of men as those who strike the air with fists, O son of Vichitravirya; (or as) those who seek to bend the bow of Indra, composed of vapour and to touch the rays of the sun, which cannot be touched.

(The seventeen kinds of men are), he who seeks to control one incapable of being brought under control; he who is satisfied with trifling gains; he who serves his enemies; he who controls women; he who asks favours that ought not to be asked; he who boasts, having done very little good; he who, well born, does improper acts; he who through week is always struggling with one who is powerful; he who talks to one listening with disgust; he who desires what ought not to be desired, O chief among men; he who being a father-in-law cracks jokes with his daughter-in-law; he whose fears being dispelled by his daughter-inlaw desires to be respected; he who sows his own seeds in the ground of another; and he who speaks very ill of his wife; he who having obtained a favour from another says he does nor remember it; he who having promised something makes empty boats when asked to perform it; he who seeks to prove the honesty of a dishonest person, the servitors of Yoma drag these down to hell, with noose in hand.

It is a good policy to behave towards one in the same way he behaves towards another. One who behaves deceitfully should be served deceitfully; and one who behaves honestly should be served with honesty.

Old age destroys beauty; patience, hope; death, life; the practice of virtue, worldly pleasures; desire, shame; good behaviors, companionship with the wicked; anger, prosperity; and pride, everything.

Dhritarashtra said In all the Vedas, man is said to have a life of one hundred years. For what reason then do not all men attain to that age?

Vidura said Too much pride, too much of speaking, the reverse of restraint, O king and anger, quarrel with relations and enmity with friends, these six are like swords that cut off the period of life given to men. These kill men and not death. Good betide they sons (after renouncing these).

He who commits adultery with those who place trust in him and who does the same with the wife of his elder, that twice-born who becomes the husband of a Shudra woman, who is given to drinking, O Bharata, who commands the twice-born or takes away their livings, who becomes their master and who kills him who demands his protection, these are like those who kill the Brahmanas. After coming in contract with one of these, expiation should be performed, which the Shrutis declare.

The wise man, who is skillful in speech, knows the code of morality. He eats last (i.e. after having made due offerings to the gods and Pitris). He is not envious; he does not injure others; he is skillful, grateful, truthful and humble. He attains heaven.

Persons speaking agreeably can readily be met with, O king; but not so the man who speaks disagreeably.

He, who having an eye on virtue and disregarding what is a agreeable or disagreeable but beneficial, is a real help to his king.

A man should be sacrificed for the sake of a family; a family should be sacrificed for the sake of a village; a village for a kingdom; and the whole world for the soul.

To ward off difficulties one should possess wealth; by wealth one should protect his wife; and one's own self should ever be protected by wife and wealth,

Gambling, from the early ages has been seen to be the cause of enmity among men; therefore it should not be resorted to even in jests by the wise.

It was said by me at the time of the play, O king, that this was not proper; but, O son of Pratipa, this speech was disagreeable to you even as medicine to a sick man, O son of Vichitravirya.

By the help of these sons of Dhritarashtra who are like crows you desire to subdue the Pandavas who are as peacocks with variegated plumage. Forsaking the lions you are protecting the jackals. When the time comes, you will repent for it.

That master, O sire, who does not often get angry with his servants, that are devoted to him and bent on furthering his in crests, commands confidence from his servants, who do not forsake him in times of danger.

Seek not to become the possessor of another's kingdom or wealth by stopping the pay of your servants. Even the affectionate ministers, defrauded and deprived of their enjoyments, turn against their master and leave him.

Having first reflected on what things are to be done and fixing allowances to spit income and expenditure, one should make suitable alliances, Alliances accomplish what is most difficult.

He, who after knowing the intentions of his lord, does all acts with promptitude and who though honorable and devoted to his master says what is conducive to his interests and knows his own strength, is to be regarded as his (the lord's) own self.

The servant, who ordered pays no attention to the order and who enjoined uses arguments against the order through pride of wisdom and who speaks ill of his master, should be got rid of quickly.

Wanting in pride, able, quick in doing things, kind, strong, incorruptible, free from disease and pleasant of speech-one with these eight qualities should, it is said, be sent as a messenger.

A man should not, out of confidence, go to the house of an untrustworthy person in the evening. He should not hide himself in the yard of another's house at night, nor desire a woman sued by a king.

One should not go against the opinions of him who keeps low company and who seeks counsel from all he comes in contract with; nor should, one say “I do not believe you;" but he should dismiss him on some presence.

A king who has too much of the sense of delicacy, a woman of loose character, the servant of a king, a son, a brother, a widow with a child, one who is employed in the army to get a living and one who has suffered loss of wealth-these should avoid transactions of lending and borrowing.

Eight qualities make a man shine viz., wisdom, high birth, learning self-control, prowess, littleness of speech, charity to the best of his power and gratitude.

These eight great qualities, O sire, have their source in one only when a king favours him; that incident brings on and keeps together all these qualities.

Those who bathe get these eight qualities, viz., strength, beauty, voice, ability to pronounce all the letters correctly, delicacy of touch, fineness of scent, purity, prosperity, delicacy of limbs and beautiful women.

The following six qualities adorn him who eats moderately, viz., immunity from disease long life, strength, happiness, the possession of children who are healthy and freedom from accusation of gluttony.

One who does improper acts, one who eats excessively, one who is hated by men, one who is very deceitful, one who is cruel, one who does not know the suitability of time and place, one who dresses indecently-these six should not be allowed a shelter in one's house.

A miser, one who speaks with malice, one who is not learned, one inhabiting the woods, one who is cunning, one who does not respect another that is generally respected, one who is cruel, one who has the habit of making enemy of others, one who is ungrateful-these should not be asked for favours even by a man in distress.

One who always acts against his interests, one who always makes blunders, one who always speaks falsehood, one not firm in his devotion, one wanting in affection and one who thinks himself able to perform all tasksthese six worst classes of men should never be served.

(The gaining of) an object depends on (the nature of) the objects (sought to be gained by them). These two depend on each other; and success cannot be gained in the absence of either.

After begetting sons and making them independent by providing for them and after giving away all the unmarried daughters to suitable bridegrooms, one should dwell in the wood like a Muni.

What conduces to the good of all creatures and is the cause to happiness to one's self should be done for the sake of God. This is the root of success of all purposes of man.

Intelligence, energy, prowess, strength, promptitude and perseverance, why should one having these fear for a living?

Look at the disasters following a quarrel with the Pandavas, which would make the gods with Shakra sad. These are enmity with those who are like your sons, a life of continual anxiety, the destruction of fame (of the family) and joy to the enemies.

O you equal to Indra, the wrath of Bhima and of yourself and of Drona and of king Yudhishthira will consume this world like a big comet falling on the earth obliquely.

Your hundred sons and Karna and the five Pandavas can rule the whole world bounded by the seas.

The sons of Dhritarashtra, 0 king, constitute the forest and in my opinion the Pandavas are the tigers. Do not cut down that forest with the tigers and do not let the tigers be driven away from the forest and be killed.

There cannot be a forest without tigers; and there cannot five tigers without a forest. The forest is protected by the tigers; and the tigers are protected by the forest.

Evil-minded persons do not seek to know the good qualities of men; so much so they desire to know their defects.

One who desires the complete accomplishment of his objects should practice virtue from the beginning the gaining of an object is impossible without virtue as the obtaining of nectar is impossible except from heaven.

All this, whether natural or artificial, is known by him whose soul has been separated from evils and fixed on good things.

He, who pursues virtue, worldly good and desire at suitable periods, gets a combination of virtue, worldly good and desire both here and elsewhere.

He who restrains the force arising from anger and joy is, O king, the winner of prosperity; and he who does not lose his sense in calamities also attains prosperity.

Men have always five sorts of strength, listen to me, O king. What is called strength of arms is said to be the worst.

The attainment of ministers, good betide you, is said to be the second sort of strength. The wise have declared that the obtainment of wealth is the third sort of strength.

What strength is acquired from one's father and grandfather, the strength of birth, the holy books declare, is the fourth sort of strength.

That by which all these are collected, O Bharata, the strength which is superior to all sorts of strength, is said to be the strength of intellect.

After provoking the hostility of a man who is capable of doing great injury to another, one should not console himself by saying "I am at a distance."

Women, kings, serpents, one's own lord, enemies, enjoyments and period of life, for what wise man it is proper to put any reliance on these?

For one who is hit by the arrow of wisdom, neither the physicians nor medicines are of any effect. Again for such a person, the mantras of the Homa, the auspicious ceremonies, the hymns of the Atharva Veda and the antidotes of poison are of no use.

A serpent, the fire, a lion and a cousin, O Bharata, are not to be disregarded by a man. All of them are really possessed of great power.

The energy of fire is great in this world. It lurks and hides itself in the wood and yet does not consume the wood, till it is put ablaze by others.

That thing (fire) when produced by friction of different pieces of wood burns by its excessive energy those woods and the forest along with other things.

In the same way, those born in high families have energy like that of fire. Of a forgiving nature, they betray no symptoms of wrath and remain still like fire in the woods.

You, with your sons, have the property of creepers; while, in my opinion, the sons of Pandu are like the Shala trees. But creepers do not grow without the support of a large tree.

O king, your son is a forest, O son of Ambika, O sire, know that the Pandavas are the trees in that forest. Deserted by the lions, the forest will be destroyed; and the lions also will be destroyed without the forest.