Shloka 71

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

Devanagari script

चत्वार्याह महाराज साद्यस्कानि बृहस्पति: । पृच्छते त्रिदशेन्द्राय तानीमानि निबोध मे,महाराज! इन्द्रके पूछनेपर उनसे बृहस्पतिजीने जिन चारोंको तत्काल फल देनेवाला बताया था, उन्हें आप मुझसे सुनिये--

Transliteration

catvāry āha mahārāja sādyaskāni bṛhaspatiḥ | pṛcchate tridaśendrāya tānīmāni nibodha me, mahārāja ||

Translation

Vidura sprach: „O König! Einst erklärte Bṛhaspati vier Handlungen, deren Ergebnis sogleich sichtbar wird. Als Indra, der Herr der Götter, ihn danach fragte, nannte er diese vier. Nun, o König, höre sie von mir.“

Word by Word

चत्वारिfour (things)

आहsaid

महाराजO great king

साद्यस्कानिgiving immediate result

बृहस्पतिःBṛhaspati

पृच्छतेasks

त्रिदशेन्द्रायto the lord of the thirty (gods), i.e., Indra

तानिthose (things)

इमानिthese (here)

निबोधunderstand; learn

मेof me; my

महाराजO great king

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Bṛhaspati

Indra (Tridaśendra)

Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)

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?

The verse frames an ethical principle: some actions yield consequences immediately. Vidura introduces Bṛhaspati’s authoritative teaching to emphasize that moral causality is not only long-term; certain deeds bring swift, visible results, making ethical vigilance urgent for a ruler.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura addresses the king and begins a cited instruction: he recalls that Indra questioned Bṛhaspati, who then listed four acts with immediate fruit. Vidura is about to enumerate those four, using the divine precedent to strengthen his counsel in the tense political context of the Udyoga Parva.