Mahabharata 11.4.3 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 4, Shloka 3

Saṃsāra-gahana-jñāna: Vidura’s Account of Embodiment, Bondage, and Dharmic Release (संसारगहन-ज्ञानम्)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत स्त्रीपर्वके अन्तर्गत जलप्रदानिकपर्वमें धृतराष्ट्रके शीकका निवारणविषयक तीसरा अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

tataḥ sa pañcame māsātīte vāsam akalpayat | tataḥ sarvāṅgabhisampūrṇo garbho vai sa tu jāyate | (vidura uvāca) ārambhe jīvaḥ kalila-rūpeṇa tiṣṭhati; paścāt pañcamo māsaḥ atīte sati sa cetanya-rūpeṇa prakaṭībhūya piṇḍe nivāsaṃ karoti; tataḥ paraṃ sa garbhasthaḥ piṇḍaḥ sarvāṅga-sampūrṇaḥ bhavati |

Translation

Vidura sprach: „O König, wenn männlicher Samen und weibliche Zeugungsflüssigkeit im Mutterleib zusammenkommen, verläuft der ganze Prozess des embryonalen Wachstums nach der Ordnung, wie sie in den Śāstras gelehrt wird. Zunächst besteht das Lebewesen als ‘kalila’, als winzige undifferenzierte Masse aus dieser Vereinigung. Wenn der fünfte Monat verstrichen ist, wird das Bewusstsein offenbar, und das Wesen nimmt Wohnung im körperlichen Klumpen; danach wird der Embryo in all seinen Gliedern vollständig.“

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पञ्चमे: in the fifth
• पञ्चमे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चम
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अतीते: when (it) had passed
• अतीते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतीत
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मासे: in the month
• मासे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• वासम्: dwelling/residence
• वासम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अकल्पयत्: arranged/made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कल्प्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सर्वाङ्गभिः: with all limbs/parts
• सर्वाङ्गभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वाङ्ग
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• सम्पूर्णः: complete
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्पूर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गर्भः: the embryo/fetus
• गर्भः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• सः: he/that (embryo)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• जायते: is born/comes into being
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Present (Laṭ), Third, Singular, Ātmanepada

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• garbha (embryo/fetus)
• kalila (early embryonic mass)
• piṇḍa (fetal body-mass)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura frames human development as an ordered, śāstra-governed process: life begins with conception, progresses through defined stages, and by the fifth month consciousness is said to become manifest, culminating in a fully formed body. The ethical undertone is reverence for life and trust in normative knowledge (śāstra) while advising the king.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Stree Parva context, Vidura addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra with instructive counsel. Here he shifts to a didactic description of fetal development—kalila to conscious residence in the piṇḍa and then full-limbed completion—using it as authoritative teaching within his broader guidance to the grieving king.