Shloka 18
वैशम्पायन उवाच एतेन त्वपराधेन शापात् तस्य महात्मन: । धर्मो विदुररूपेण शूद्रयोनावजायत,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! इसी अपराधके कारण महात्मा माण्डव्यके शापसे साक्षात् धर्म ही विदुररूपसे शूद्रयोनिमें उत्पन्न हुए
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: etena tv aparādhenā śāpāt tasya mahātmanaḥ | dharmo vidura-rūpeṇa śūdra-yonyām ajāyata ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, because of this very offence, and due to the curse of that great-souled sage Māṇḍavya, Dharma himself was born in a Śūdra womb, taking the form of Vidura.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even Dharma, the very principle of justice, is shown as subject to moral accountability: an offence can bring consequences through a curse, underscoring that ethical order operates impartially and that responsibility is not avoided by status or divinity.
Vaiśampāyana explains to the king that a prior wrongdoing led to the sage Māṇḍavya cursing Dharma; as a result, Dharma incarnated as Vidura and took birth in a Śūdra womb.