Shloka 353

Vyāsa’s Inquiry into Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Tapas and the Identification of Vidura with Dharma

Devanagari script

अविषटह्ां च राजा हि तीव्र चारप्स्यते तप: । “उसे ही देखकर अब मैं केवल धर्मसम्पादनकी इच्छासे यहाँ रहना चाहता हूँ, धनके लिये नहीं। तुम हम सब लोगोंकी ओर कल्याणमयी दृष्टिसे देखो; क्योंकि तुम्हारा दर्शन हमलोगोंके लिये अब दुर्लभ हो जायगा। कारण कि राजा धृतराष्ट्र अब बड़ी कठोर और असह्ा तपस्या आरम्भ करेंगे”

Transliteration

avaiṣayān ca rājā hi tīvracārapsyate tapaḥ | “tam eva dṛṣṭvā ’dya ahaṃ kevalaṃ dharmasampādanecchayā iha sthātum icchāmi, dhanāya na | yūyaṃ asmān sarvān kalyāṇamayyā dṛṣṭyā paśyata; yato yuṣmaddarśanaṃ asmākaṃ idānīṃ durlabhaṃ bhaviṣyati | kāraṇaṃ hi rājā dhṛtarāṣṭro ’dya mahākaṭhoraṃ ca asahyaṃ ca tapa ārabdhum”

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Der König wird nun strenge Askese auf sich nehmen. Nachdem ich ihn gesehen habe, wünsche ich hier zu bleiben allein in der Absicht, das Dharma zu erfüllen, nicht um des Reichtums willen. Blickt auf uns alle mit gütigem, heilbringendem Auge, denn bald wird euer Anblick uns selten werden—weil König Dhṛtarāṣṭra im Begriff ist, eine überaus harte, kaum erträgliche Buße zu beginnen.“

Word by Word

• {'rājā': 'the king', 'tīvra': 'intense, severe', 'tapaḥ / tapas': 'austerity, ascetic discipline, penance', 'ārabdhum / ārabhyate': 'to begin, to undertake', 'dharma-sampādana-icchā': 'the desire to accomplish/fulfil dharma', 'iha sthātum icchāmi': 'I wish to stay here', 'dhanāya na': 'not for wealth', 'kalyāṇamayī dṛṣṭi': 'a benevolent, auspicious gaze', 'darśana': 'seeing

• presence', 'durlabha': 'hard to obtain, rare', 'kāraṇam': 'the reason/cause', 'dhṛtarāṣṭra': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra (name of the king)', 'mahākaṭhora': 'very harsh, extremely कठोर', 'asahya': 'unbearable, scarcely endurable'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• the king (rājā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage elevates dharma over material gain: one should remain in a place or undertake a course of action for the sake of righteous fulfilment, not for wealth. It also underscores reverence for spiritual discipline (tapas) and the value of a saintly person’s benevolent regard, which becomes rare when one withdraws into austerity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that King Dhṛtarāṣṭra is about to begin extremely severe and difficult austerities. Because this will make his public presence and ‘darśana’ rare, the speaker asks others to look upon them kindly and states a resolve to stay there for dharma rather than for any material benefit.