Dhritarashtra's half-brother and counsellor. His night of advice is the Vidura Niti.
Vidura is Dhritarashtra's half-brother and counsellor, son of the sage Vyasa and a woman of the palace. On a sleepless night the blind king calls him in, and Vidura tells him to give the Pandavas their kingdom (MBh 5.33.130). That night of advice is the Vidura Niti.
प्रदायैषामुचितं तात राज्यंसुखी पुत्रैः सहितो मोदमानः ।न देवानां नापि च मानुषाणांभविष्यसि त्वं गर्हणीयो नरेन्द्र ॥
pradāyaiṣāmucitaṃ tāta rājyaṃsukhī putraiḥ sahito modamānaḥ |na devānāṃ nāpi ca mānuṣāṇāṃbhaviṣyasi tvaṃ garhaṇīyo narendra ||
Give them their rightful kingdom, dear one, and live happily among your sons. Then neither gods nor people will find fault with you, King.
MBh 5.33.130Vidura to Dhritarashtra
Vidura tells him the thing he does not want to hear: give the Pandavas their rightful share and live at peace with your sons.
Son of Vyasa and a woman who served in the palace.
He is Vyasa's son by a woman who served in the palace, raised with Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dharma himself later tells Yudhishthira that Vidura is born of a part of him. MBh 3.315.22
He warns against the dice game and reminds the king of it later: "I told you at the time of the dice."
Eight chapters of counsel on speech, anger, friendship and kingship, ending again and again in one request: make peace with Pandu's sons. MBh 5.33 to 5.40
He reminds Dhritarashtra that he said it the day Duryodhana was born: give up the one son to save the hundred. MBh 5.39.5
He takes no part in the fighting. After the war he goes to the forest with Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti.
सुलभाः पुरुषा राजन्सततं प्रियवादिनः ।अप्रियस्य तु पथ्यस्य वक्ता श्रोता च दुर्लभः ॥
sulabhāḥ puruṣā rājansatataṃ priyavādinaḥ |apriyasya tu pathyasya vaktā śrotā ca durlabhaḥ ||
People who always say pleasant things are easy to find, King. Rare is the one who says what is unwelcome but good for you, and rare the one who listens.
MBh 5.37.15Vidura to Dhritarashtra
षड्दोषाः पुरुषेणेह हातव्या भूतिमिच्छता ।निद्रा तन्द्री भयं क्रोध आलस्यं दीर्घसूत्रता ॥
ṣaḍdoṣāḥ puruṣeṇeha hātavyā bhūtimicchatā |nidrā tandrī bhayaṃ krodha ālasyaṃ dīrghasūtratā ||
Anyone who wants to do well in life should drop six faults: too much sleep, drowsiness, fear, anger, idleness and putting things off.
MBh 5.33.85Vidura to Dhritarashtra
अक्रोधेन जयेत्क्रोधमसाधुं साधुना जयेत् ।जयेत्कदर्यं दानेन जयेत्सत्येन चानृतम् ॥
akrodhena jayetkrodhamasādhuṃ sādhunā jayet |jayetkadaryaṃ dānena jayetsatyena cānṛtam ||
Win over anger with calm, the wicked with goodness, the miser with giving, and the liar with truth.
MBh 5.39.73Vidura to Dhritarashtra
रोहते सायकैर्विद्धं वनं परशुना हतम् ।वाचा दुरुक्तं बीभत्सं न संरोहति वाक्क्षतम् ॥
rohate sāyakairviddhaṃ vanaṃ paraśunā hatam |vācā duruktaṃ bībhatsaṃ na saṃrohati vākkṣatam ||
Flesh pierced by arrows heals, and a forest cut down by the axe grows back. A wound from cruel words does not heal.
MBh 5.34.79Vidura to Dhritarashtra
उक्तं मया जातमात्रेऽपि राजन्दुर्योधनं त्यज पुत्रं त्वमेकम् ।तस्य त्यागात्पुत्रशतस्य वृद्धि-रस्यात्यागात्पुत्रशतस्य नाशः ॥
uktaṃ mayā jātamātre'pi rājanduryodhanaṃ tyaja putraṃ tvamekam |tasya tyāgātputraśatasya vṛddhi-rasyātyāgātputraśatasya nāśaḥ ||
I told you the day he was born, King: give up this one son, Duryodhana. Give him up and your hundred sons will thrive. Keep him and the hundred will perish.
MBh 5.39.5Vidura to Dhritarashtra
इदं च त्वां सर्वपरं ब्रवीमिपुण्यं पदं तात महाविशिष्टम् ।न जातु कामान्न भयान्न लोभा-द्धर्मं जह्याज्जीवितस्यापि हेतोः ॥
idaṃ ca tvāṃ sarvaparaṃ bravīmipuṇyaṃ padaṃ tāta mahāviśiṣṭam |na jātu kāmānna bhayānna lobhā-ddharmaṃ jahyājjīvitasyāpi hetoḥ ||
And above all I tell you this, dear one, a holy step and the highest: never give up dharma for desire, for fear or for greed, not even to save your life.
MBh 5.40.12Vidura to Dhritarashtra
Vidura's three gates of hell, desire, anger and greed (MBh 5.33.73), are the same verse, word for word.
"The self alone is the self's friend, and the self alone its enemy" (MBh 5.34.65) is half of this verse.
Book six, between the two armies, told by Sanjaya after Bhishma falls.
Week 1 of the Gita by email: one verse a day and what it asks of you.
Send my weekLines come from the Sanskrit we hold for books 3, 5, 12, 13 and 14, a southern-recension text whose numbering runs close to the Kumbhakonam edition, so verse numbers can differ from the Pune critical edition. Events from books we have yet to add in Sanskrit carry no verse number. The English is Wisdom's own, read with Nilakantha's commentary, with K. M. Ganguli's public-domain translation consulted.
Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla.