Mahabharata 12: Rare Is A Man Of Sound Advice Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Easy, meeting many a man here,
Sinful sweet who talk soothing a raw ear,
But those vouching unwelcome a word
That hard be to digest as heard
Rare indeed are such counsellors,
And rarer still are listeners.
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Here is the transliteration of the original verse:

labhyate khalu pāpīyānnarah nu priya-vāk iha |
a-priyasya hi apathyasya vaktāh shrotāh cha durlabhah || sabhā 64-16

Duryodhan never liked his uncle Vidur who always would tell him to mend his ways and advise on the right path to take. To Duryodhan's long tirade, and allegations that his uncle always advised against their interest, and things in favour of his enemies, what Vidur felt is a well-known quote from the epic:

In today's world edging to be politically correct, the tribe of sweet talkers has multiplied.