Shloka 67

Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition

Devanagari script

वरप्रदानं राज्यं च पुत्रजन्म च भारत | शत्रोश्व मोक्षणं कृच्छात्‌ त्रीणि चैके च तत्समम्‌

Transliteration

varapradānaṁ rājyaṁ ca putrajanma ca bhārata | śatrośva mokṣaṇaṁ kṛcchāt trīṇi caike ca tatsamam ||

Translation

Vidura sprach: „O Bhārata, drei Dinge gelten als große Gaben: eine Gabe zu gewähren, die Herrschaft zu erlangen und die Geburt eines Sohnes. Doch eine einzige Tat — sich, wenn auch unter Mühen, von einem Feind zu befreien — ist diesen dreien an Wert gleich.“

Word by Word

वरप्रदानम्granting of a boon

राज्यम्kingdom, sovereignty

चand

पुत्रजन्मbirth of a son

चand

भारतO Bhārata

शत्रोःof an enemy

अश्वमोक्षणम्release of the horse (from captivity/bondage)

कृच्छात्from hardship, with difficulty

त्रीणिthree

चand

एकेtwo (lit. 'one-one', i.e., a pair)

चand

तत्समम्equal to that

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Bhārata (addressed person, traditionally Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura ranks freedom from hostile threat as a supreme good: even if difficult, becoming secure from an enemy can equal the joy and value of major life-blessings like power, prosperity, and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura counsels the Kuru king (addressed as “Bhārata”) with practical ethics and statecraft, emphasizing what truly safeguards a ruler and household amid rising conflict.