Shloka 11
Sanatsujāta-Āhvāna (Summoning Sanatsujāta) — Vidura’s Invocation and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Doubt
अभिध्या वै प्रथमं हन्ति लोकान् कामक्रोधावनुगृहाशु पश्चात् । एते बालान् मृत्यवे प्रापयन्ति धीरास्तु धैर्येण तरन्ति मृत्युम्
abhidhyā vai prathamaṃ hanti lokān kāmakrodhāv anugṛhāśu paścāt | ete bālān mṛtyave prāpayanti dhīrās tu dhairyeṇa taranti mṛtyum ||
Sanatsujāta sagt: „Zuerst schlägt das brütende Begehren —die Fixierung auf Sinnesobjekte— die Menschen nieder. Dann greift es schnell erneut an und nimmt Begierde und Zorn zu Verbündeten. So treibt diese Fixierung —zusammen mit Lust und Wut— die Unverständigen dem Tod entgegen; die Standhaften und Weisen aber überschreiten den Tod durch Festigkeit und Selbstbeherrschung.“
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked mental fixation on sense-objects (abhidhyā) gives rise to desire and anger, which ruin discernment and lead one toward ‘death’—both moral ruin and bondage. The wise overcome this by dhairya: steady restraint, patience, and inner firmness.
In Udyoga Parva, Sanatsujāta instructs Dhṛtarāṣṭra on spiritual and ethical discipline. Here he diagnoses the inner causes of downfall—brooding, desire, and anger—and contrasts them with the steadfastness of the dhīra who transcends death through self-mastery.