Shloka 59
Vidura’s Return; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure; Nārada’s Instruction on Kāla and Detachment
विदुरस्तु तदाश्चर्यं निशाम्य कुरुनन्दन । हर्षशोकयुतस्तस्माद् गन्ता तीर्थनिषेवक: ॥ ५९ ॥
viduras tu tad āścaryaṁ niśāmya kuru-nandana harṣa-śoka-yutas tasmād gantā tīrtha-niṣevakaḥ
O Kurunandana, hearing that wondrous matter, Vidura—touched by both joy and grief—departed from that sacred place of pilgrimage to pursue the service of the holy tīrthas.
Vidura was astonished to see the marvelous departure of his brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra as a liberated yogī, for in his past life he was much attached to materialism. Of course it was only due to Vidura that his brother attained the desirable goal of life. Vidura was therefore glad to learn about it. But he was sorry that he could not make his brother turn into a pure devotee. This was not done by Vidura because of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s being inimical to the Pāṇḍavas, who were all devotees of the Lord. An offense at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava is more dangerous than an offense at the lotus feet of the Lord. Vidura was certainly very liberal to bestow mercy upon his brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra, whose past life was very materialistic. But ultimately the result of such mercy certainly depended on the will of the Supreme Lord in the present life; therefore Dhṛtarāṣṭra attained liberation only, and after many such liberated states of life one can attain to the stage of devotional service. Vidura was certainly very mortified by the death of his brother and sister-in-law, and the only remedy to mitigate such lamentation was to go out to pilgrimage. Thus Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira had no chance to call back Vidura, his surviving uncle.
FAQs
This verse shows Vidura turning to tīrtha-niṣevā—visiting and honoring holy places—as a spiritual response, channeling intense emotions into devotion and purification.
Hearing the astonishing turn of events, Vidura felt joy at the unfolding of dharma and spiritual progress, and sorrow due to the painful family consequences—yet he chose renunciation and pilgrimage.
Like Vidura, redirect emotional upheaval into sādhana—seek sacred association, visit holy places when possible, and adopt practices that deepen detachment and devotion rather than reaction.