Vidura Niti (Mahabharata - Udyogaparva)

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Book Specification

Item Code:	NAL025
Publisher:	Gita Press, Gorakhpur
Language:	Sanskrit Text With English Translation
Edition:	2022
Pages:	144
Cover:	Paperback
Other Details	8.5 inch X 5.5 inch
Weight	120 gm

Book Description

About the book

Vidura Niti is a well-known and highly beneficial part of the Mahabharata. In these chapters, Mahatma Vidura has explained to the King, Dhrtarastra several issues relating to human welfare in this and the other world. The following extract consist of eight chapters (33-40) of the Udyoga Parva of the Mahabharata. Several Sanskrit commentaries have been published on the Vidura Niti.

In these chapters, while advising on the duties of a king, that is Raja Dharma, several other issues have been discussed in eye-catching detail. Some of these are: Polity, interaction, treatment of others, truthful behaviour, Dharma, means to achieve happiness and eschew actions that lead to suffering, discrimination between undesirable and desirable qualities, importance of renunciation, different facets of justice, Truth, human welfare, forgiveness, non- violence, attributes of a friend, and consequences of ingratitude. The author has lucidly delineated the duties of a king while stressing upon the virtue of giving up greed.

Vidura Niti will benefit the illiterate as well the learned, the adults, the aged and the young, the women, the rulers and the subjects, the rich and the poor, the teacher as well as the student, those busy in serving others, and those desirous of living a clean and happy life.

The Stokes have been translated in simple language. We hope that Indians of whatever class or region they might belong to benefit from this book.

Preface

The conversation reproduced below takes place between the Hastinapur king, Dhrtarastra and his cousin Vidura. It is contained in eight chapters of the Udyoga Parva of the epic, the Mahabharata.

A tussle is going on between the king's sons, the Kauravas led by Duryodhana, the eldest prince and their cousins, the Pandavas, led by Yudhisthira for an equitable division of the kingdom. Sanjaya, the king's confidante and charioteer, had gone to placate the Pandava princes. The tidings he brought gave no cheer to the blind king who wanted his son, Duryodhana to inherit the entire kingdom.

The narrator is R$i Vaisarnpayana, a celebrated pupil of Vyasa. He is said to have recounted the whole of Mahabharata to king Janamejaya, son of Panksita, grandson of Arjuna, the Pandava prince.

Contents

Sloka No.	Topic	Page
1-6	Vidura admitted to the King's presence	17-18
7-8	Vidura inquires a worried Dhrtarastra the reason for his being summoned	18
9-12	Dhrtarastra explains his worry and requests a solution	19
13-19	Vidura describes the situations which keep a man awake. He taunts the king for the injustice done to Yudhisthira	19-21
20-34	The attributes of a Pandita	21-24
35-44	How to identify an idiot?	24-25
45	Who is a Pandita?	25-26
46	Condemnation of a person who does not share his wealth other members of the family	26
47	A wrong deed is visited upon the doer alone	26
48-49	The importance of intellect. How to wisely use one's intelligence?	26
50	Lack of wise policies can destroy a king	27
51	Situations where a person must share his thoughts etc. with others	27
52	In praise of truth	27
53-56	In praise of forgiveness	27-28
57	In praise of Dharma & Knowledge etc	28
58	When are the kings and the Brahmins losers?	28
59	In praise of persons who are polite in speech	28
60	Persons who follow others blindly.	28-29
61	Know your limits	29
62	When is Grhastha or a Samnyasi looked down upon	29
63	The two persons who deserve a place in paradise	29
64	When is well-earned wealth misused?	29
65	Who deserve to be punished with death by drowning?	29-30
66	The two types of person who atain paradise	30
67-68	The three means to attain success. Three types of human beings	30
69	Persons who do not deserve to be rich	30
70	The three evils which destroy a human being	30
71	The three gates of hell	31
72	The three sources of happiness	31
73	The types of persons who deserve to be protected	31
74	The four types of persons who ought to kept at a distance by the king	31
75	The four types of dependents who deserve a shelter	31
76-77	The four situations which yield result quickly	31-32
78	The four deeds which make a person fearless	32
79	The five entities who deserve to be worshipped	32
80	The five acts which bring glory to man	32
81	The five types of person's who depend upon a king	32-33
82	Failure of even one of the five senses can harm a person	33
83-85	Six Undesirable qualities	33
86-87	Virtues which must not be given up	33-34
88	Desirability of overcoming 6 bad habits	34
89-90	The six types of persons who depend on others to make a living	34
91	Lack of care can destroy farm, cattle etc	34
92-93	Six types of persons ignored by the other six	35
94	Six sources of happiness on this earth	35
95	The six types of persons who are always unhappy	35
96-97	Seven bad habits, a king must give up	35-36
98-100	8 indicators of the decline of a person	36
101-103	8 sources of happiness	36-37
104	8 virtues which elevate a person	37
105	Know your body which is endowed with many entrances	37
106-107	10 types of person ignorant of Dharma	37
108-110	Advice tendered by Prahlada to his son	38
111-115	Qualities of a warrior, a wise king and a noble person	38-40
116-119	Qualities of a person who can impress his public	40-41
120-123	who is superior among the learned?	41-42
124-126	Qualities of a man who shines like the sun	42-43
127-128	Vidura Councils Dhrtarastra to handover half of the kingdom to the Pandava Brothers	43
	Chapter-2
1-3	A worried Dhrtarastra seeks counsel for his welfare	44
4-5	Vidura promises to tender honest advice only	44-45
6-7	Do not follow the path of untruth even if that leads to success	45
8-9	Keep in mind the purpose and result to be achieved in any activity	45-45
10-11	An unthinking king loses his kingdom	45-46
12-13	Wealth is destroyed by unfair treatment of others	45-46
4	Advice regarding digestible foods	46
15-16	The time to pluck a ripe fruit	46
17-18	Painless collection of taxes	47
19-20	Do not take a step forward without weighing its consequences	47
21-22	When do the subjects approve of a king?	47
23-26	How should a king look after his subject?	48
27-28	Injustice destroys a Kingdom. Practice of Dharma brings prosperity	48-49
29	Damages caused by a lack of Dharma	49
30-31	Justification for the destruction of an enemy for self-preservation	49
32-33	Garner your wisdom from various sources	49-50
34-37	Don't underestimate the strength of a superior	50
38-40	Several types of protectors Good conduct is superior to lineage	50-51
41-43	Good conduct is superior to lineage	51
44-46	I n praise of the truthful	51-52
47-48	In praise of good conduct	52
49-51	Consumption of food by different A lack of control over the five senses	52-53
52-53	Various sources of fear	53
54-55	A lack of control over the five senses leads to decline	53
56-57	Self-control leads to victory and success	54
58-59	How are wealth and success achieved?	54
60-65	Advantages of a control of the five senses	54-55
66-69	Lust and anger wipe out wisdom	55-56
70-73	Avoid bad company	56-57
74-75	The importance of forgiveness	57
76-80	The advantage of polite speech	57-58
81-83	A lack of wisdom leads to defeat	58-59
84-86	Vidura narrates the qualities of Yudhisthira	59
	Chapter-3
1	Dhrtarastr wants Vidura to tell him more about righteous Conduct	60
2-3	Vidura advises the king to treat others kindly	60
4	Virtuous conduct in this world ensures passage to the Swargaloka	60
5-38	The story of kesini and of meditation by prahlads in the dispute between his son virocana and the Brahmin, Sudhanva	60-67
39	Vidura advises the king not to resort to falsehood for the sake of land	68
40-41	The importance of intelligent conduct in achieving success	68
42-45	Even the knowledge of Vedas cannot protect a deceitful person	68-69
46-48	Certain evil deeds are as pernicious as the killing of a Brahmin	69-70
49-50	8 situations in which a human being can be tested. 8 destructive habits	70
51-52	8 virtues that help in the creation of wealth, add to longevity etc.	70-71
53-55	The importance of a king's noble conduct	71-72
56-57	8 paths to righteous conduct	72
58	The importance of Dharma and the truth	72
59-65	The 10 pathways to heaven	72-74
66-68	The importance of wisdom and discretion	74
69-71	Wealth acquired through foul means dos not overcome short-comings	74-75
72-74	Desirable qualities in a king who wants rule for a long time. 3 types of persons who benefit the most from the earth	75
75	Identification of good and of evil deeds	75-76
76-77	Advice to the king to treat his nephews like a father	76
	Chapter-4
3-Jan	Dialogue between Dattatreya and the Devatas	77
4	Dattatreya advises patience and the pursuit of truth	77-78
8-May	The importance of the spoken word	78-79
11-Sep	The rewards of forbearance	79-80
15-Dec	The importance of the spoken word	80
16-21	How to identify different types of persons	80-82
22-24	Dhrtarastra wants to know from Vidura the qualities of human beings born to noble families	82-83
25-28	The downfall of noble families	83
29-31	The importance of noble conduct	83-84
32-33	The person who are unsuitable to be in a court or belong to the king's family	84
34-35	How to receive a guest?	84-85
36-38	Attributes of a good friend	85
39-40	The disadvantages of a person who is unstable is conduct and thought	85-86
41-45	The unstable temperament of an evil person	86-87
46-47	Be indifferent to happiness or sorrow	87
48	Lust destroys wisdom	87
49-50	A disturbed Dhrtarastra looks for peace	87-88
51-54	Vidura advises the king how to be at peace?	88-89
55-57	Person who are inimical can never be happy	89
58-60	Damage done by internal differences. The importance of a well knit group	89-90
61	The downfall of those who harass Brahmins an women	90
62-65	Unity is strength	90-91
66-67	Do not harm the Brahmins, the cows, the children or the women	91
68-69	The conquest of anger	91-92
70-74	Vidura advises Dhrtarastra to amicably settle the dispute between his sons and the Pandavas	92-93
	Chapter-5
1-6	Who are chosen for hell by the messengers of Yamaraja?	94-95
7-8	Is the policy of retribution desirable?	95-96
9-11	Why can't a human being live to a 100 years?	96
12-13	Evil deeds akin to the killing of brahmins	96-97
14-16	The qualities of a person who deserves to go to heaven. Who is a true friend of king?	97-98
17-18	The virtues of renunciations	98
19-21	Gambling, the root cause of all evil	98-99
22-23	How does a king retain the trust of his subordinates?	99-100
24-27	The importance of competent subordinates	100-101
28-29	Be alert while choosing an activity	101
30	Do not lend to such people	101-102
31-32	8 virtues which enhance the human excellence	102
33-34	The utility of a bath and of a frugal meal	102-103
35-36	Persons who should be kept at an arms-length: no shelter; no request for help	103
37	6 types of person who must not be catered to or pampered	103
38-39	The time to move into the Vanaprastha Asrama	103-104
40-41	The secret of all achievement	104
42-46	The undesirable consequences of the war with the Pandavas	104-105
47-50	Dharma cannot be devorced from Artha, abstain from sin by intellect. An evil person notices only the undesirable habits of others	105-106
51	Who deserved the kingdom?
52-55	5 strong points of a human being	106-107
56-57	Never earn the enmity of a stronger person. The learned never trust such a person	107
58-59	The importance of wisdom	107
60-62	Your relatives can be like fire hidden in wood	107-108
63-64	Vidura says that the Kauravas and the Pandavas must live in harmony	108
	Chapter-6
1	Suitable welcome to respectable elders a must	109
2-3	The welcome rituals of a guest	109
4-5	Categories of person who though not deserving a welcome, must be treated well as guests	109-110
6-7	Attributes of a Samnyasi and of a Vanaprastha .	110-111
8-9	Do not earn the enmity of a wise person. Do not repose blind faith in anyone	111
10-11	How should a man protect a woman? Why do women deserve protection?	111-112
12-14	Choice of a person for safe upkeep	112
15-21	Qualities of a king who lasts long. Even a minister need not be privy to the king	112-113
22-24	Evil deeds lead to undesirable consequences	113-114
25-26	The qualities of a successful ruler	114
27	A king must not be greedy	115
28-29	A subdued enemy must be put to death	115
30-33	Control of anger and giving up unnecessary disputes is beneficial	115-116
34-35	Dependence upon an unwise person can be dangerous	116
36-37	The winning qualities of a king	116
38-39	7 secrets of addition to wealth	117
40-41	Never harm an innocent person	117
42-43	A kingdom must not fall into the hands of a women, a gambler or a child	117-118
44-45	Who is a wise person?	118
46-47	Vidura's advice: handing over kingdom to Duryodhana would be ruinous for the empire	118
	Chapter-7
1	Dhrtarastra believes that human beings are subject to fate	119
2-4	Vidura's advice: "take care of which way the wind blows". How to endear yourself to others?	119-120
5	The possibility of the death of a hundred princess just to please Duryodhana	120
6-7	Beware of such success as could lead to failure	120
8-9	Do not befriend the rich who lack virtue. Dhrtarastra expresses his inability to give up siding with Duryodhana	120-121
10-13	The qualities of a humble person. It is undesirable to deal with evil persons	121
14-16	Do not be friendly with a man who is evil	121-122
17-32	Vidura advises the king to protect his kinsmen and be fair and just to the Pandavas	122-125
33-35	Qualities of person who stay praise- worthy for a long time	125
36-38	6 Habits which ought to be give up	125-126
39-41	Importance of knowledge and the desirability of looking after the elders	126
42-43	How is lineage judged?	126-127
44-47	Preservation of self-acquired wealth protection of one's near and dear ones	127-128
48-50	The desirability of giving up friendship of a foolish person	128
51-56	It is not desirable to either deny the pleasures of senses or to give them unbridled freedom	128-129
57-59	The importance of forgiveness importance of sustained effort	129-130
60-64	How to deal with a cunning person in order to protect wealth?	130-131
65-68	Consequences of certain actions	131-132
69-71	Different class of people have different strength	132
72-76	Persons who can be trusted and those who cannot be. Importance of paying respect to the teachers	132-133
77-81	Signs of Old-age in different groups of person	133-134
82-85	Vidura's advice to the king to treat his sons and nephews on an equal footing	134-135
	Chapter-8
1-3	How to acquire happiness and fame in a short duration	136
4	An attitude of negativity is like courting death	136-137
5-6	7 shortcomings of a student	137
7-11	Sources of dissatisfaction. Essentials of a good household	137-138
12-13	Never give up the righteous conduct	138-139
14-18	The inevitability of death. Hence the desirability of accumulating good deeds	139-140
19-22	Wipe out ignorance with knowledge	140-141
23-25	The virtues of detachment	141-142
26-28	The path to Swargaloka for the Ksatriyas, the Vaisyas and the Sudras	142-143
29-32	Vidura advises Dhrtarastra to be fair and just to Yudhisthira. However, the king although in agreement with him, decline his advice	143-144

Sample Pages