Shloka 12
Saṃsāra-mārga-vistaraḥ
Vidura’s Expanded Account of the Path
एते कालस्य निधयो नैतान् जानन्ति दुर्बुधा: । धात्राभिलिखितान्याहु: सर्वभूतानि कर्मणा
ete kālasya nidhayo naitān jānanti durbudhāḥ | dhātrābhilikhitāny āhuḥ sarvabhūtāni karmaṇā ||
„Dies sind die verborgenen Vorräte der Zeit; die Toren erkennen sie nicht. Man sagt, dass alle Wesen durch ihre eigenen Taten vom Ordner (Dhātṛ) im Voraus eingeschrieben sind—so entfalten sich die Ereignisse als Schicksal, geformt durch Karma.“
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that the workings of Time and destiny are subtle and often unseen; people of weak understanding fail to grasp them. Yet what appears as fate is closely tied to karma—beings experience outcomes that are, as it were, already ‘inscribed’ by the cosmic order in accordance with their deeds.
In the Stree Parva’s aftermath of the Kurukṣetra catastrophe, Vidura speaks in a reflective, consolatory mode. He frames the overwhelming suffering and reversals as part of Kāla’s hidden operation, emphasizing that events unfold under a larger moral-cosmic order connected to past actions.