Shloka 69
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
रोगार्दिता न फलान्याद्रियन्ते न वै लभन्ते विषयेषु तत्त्वम् । दुःखोपेता रोगिणो नित्यमेव न बुध्यन्ते धनभोगान् न सौख्यम्
rogārditā na phalāny ādriyante na vai labhante viṣayeṣu tattvam | duḥkhopetā rogiṇo nityam eva na budhyante dhanabhogān na saukhyam ||
Vidura bemerkt: „Wer von Krankheit heimgesucht ist, findet selbst an süßen Früchten keinen Gefallen und entdeckt in den Sinnesobjekten keine wahre Essenz. Kranke leben fortwährend unter der Last des Leidens; sie nehmen weder die Genüsse wahr, die Reichtum erkaufen kann, noch erfahren sie echtes Glück.“
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Illness can nullify the appeal and even the perceived ‘essence’ of worldly pleasures; therefore, wealth and sense-enjoyments are not reliable foundations for happiness, and one should cultivate a steadier, dharmic understanding of well-being.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura is giving moral counsel (nīti) in a tense pre-war context, using the example of the sick person to illustrate how external pleasures fail when inner conditions—like health and peace—are disturbed.