Vidura Advises Dhritarashtra on Dharma and Statecraft

Dhritarashtra asked Vidura a question that seemed simple: the Vedas say a man is meant to live a hundred years. Why do so few reach that age? Vidura answered with a list. Six things, he said, are sharp swords that slice away a man's lifespan: too much talk, too much pride, lack of renunciation, anger, avarice, and enmity with friends. It is these that kill a man, not death itself. Then he went deeper. He spoke of the kinds of men who are like those who strike the air with their fists — those who instruct the unteachable, who worship their enemies, who fail to protect women, who boast, who are well-born but do nothing worthy of their birth, who are weak but fight the strong, who desire what should not be desired. These men, he said, chase the wind with nooses in their hands. A man must be treated according to what he is and how he acts, Vidura said. That is dharma. One who uses deceit must be met with deceit. One who is virtuous must be met with virtue. He told Dhritarashtra that it is easy to find men who speak pleasant words. But it is hard to find a speaker or a listener for unpleasant words that are nevertheless appropriate. A king's true friend is the one who provides unpleasant but fitting counsel, regardless of what pleases or displeases his lord. Then Vidura turned to the matter at hand. "At the time of the dicing, I told you it was not right," he said. "But that brought you displeasure, like medicine and diet to a diseased man. You have vanquished the Pandavas — who are like peacocks with many-coloured feathers — with the sons of Dhritarashtra, who are like crows. You have given up the lions and resorted to the assembled jackals. When the time comes, you will sorrow over this." He warned Dhritarashtra about the evils of the quarrel with the Pandavas. Even the gods, together with Shakra (Indra), tremble at them. The anger of Bhishma, of Drona, and of King Yudhishthira, when ignited, will destroy the world like a white planet descending obliquely from the sky. "Your hundred sons, together with Karna, and the five Pandavas could rule the entire earth, up to the frontiers of the ocean," Vidura said. "The sons of Dhritarashtra are the forest, and Pandu's sons are the tigers. Do not cut down the forest with its tigers. Do not drive the tigers away from the forest. The forest is protected by the tigers. The tigers are protected by the forest." He spoke of the duties of a king: how to treat servants, how to choose messengers, how to avoid the wrong kinds of men. He spoke of the eight qualities that adorn a man who bathes — strength, beauty, purity of speech, delicacy of touch, fragrance, cleanliness, prosperity, and the company of beautiful women. He spoke of the six qualities that adorn those who eat in moderation — freedom from disease, long life, happiness, strength, healthy children, and freedom from accusations of gluttony. And he spoke of what must be preserved and what must be abandoned. "A man must be abandoned for the sake of the lineage. A lineage must be abandoned for the sake of the village. A village must be abandoned for the sake of the country. The earth must be abandoned for the sake of the soul." Vidura's counsel was not a single answer to a single question. It was a flood — a comprehensive discourse on how to live, how to rule, and how to avoid the ruin that comes from choosing the wrong allies and nurturing the wrong enmities.