Shloka 20

उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)

Devanagari script

अनारशभ्या भवन्त्यर्था: केचिन्नित्यं तथागता: । कृत: पुरुषकारो हि भवेद्‌ येषु निरर्थक:,कुछ ऐसे व्यर्थ कार्य हैं, जो नित्य अप्राप्त होनेके कारण आरम्भ करनेयोग्य नहीं होते; क्योंकि उनके लिये किया हुआ पुरुषार्थ भी व्यर्थ हो जाता है

Transliteration

anāraśabhyā bhavanty arthāḥ kecin nityaṃ tathāgatāḥ | kṛtaḥ puruṣakāro hi bhaved yeṣu nirarthakaḥ ||

Translation

Vidura spricht: Manche Ziele sind ihrer Natur nach zu allen Zeiten unerreichbar; darum taugen sie nicht dazu, begonnen zu werden. Denn in solchen Fällen wird selbst ernsthaftes menschliches Bemühen—so aufrichtig es auch sei—am Ende fruchtlos. Der Weise, der erkennt, was erreichbar ist und was nicht, vergeudet seinen Entschluss nicht an dem, was keinen wirklichen Nutzen bringt.

Word by Word

अनारशभ्याःnot-to-be-begun / not fit to be undertaken

भवन्तिare / become

अर्थाःpurposes / undertakings / matters

केचित्some

नित्यम्always

तथाthus / in that manner

आगताःcome / obtained / arrived (as they have come to be)

कृतःdone / made

पुरुषकारःhuman effort / exertion

हिindeed / for

भवेत्would be / may become

येषुin which (cases/things)

निरर्थकःfruitless / purposeless

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

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?

Discernment (viveka) in choosing goals: do not invest effort in aims that are inherently unattainable, because even sincere exertion becomes futile; wise action begins with judging feasibility and meaningful outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers Nīti-style counsel during the tense pre-war negotiations, urging clear judgment and restraint; here he emphasizes that some undertakings are pointless by nature and should be avoided.