Shloka 2
Vidura’s Message to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Authorization for Dāna and Public Welfare (विदुरवाक्यम्—दानानुज्ञा)
द्वैपायन: सशिष्यश्नष सिद्धाक्षान्ये मनीषिण: । शतयूपश्न राजर्षिव॑द्ध: परमधार्मिक:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca — Dvaipāyanaḥ saśiṣyaś ca siddhāś cānye manīṣiṇaḥ | śatayūpaś ca rājarṣir vṛddhaḥ paramadhārmikaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa) arrived with his disciples, along with other perfected beings and wise sages. With them also came the aged royal seer Śatayūpa, a man of supreme righteousness—having come there to meet King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The scene underscores the moral gravity of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s forest life: the spiritually accomplished gather not for spectacle, but to honor dharma and guide a king toward inner rectitude at life’s end.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma at the end of life: when a ruler enters forest-discipline, the truly accomplished (sages, siddhas) gather to support ethical clarity and spiritual steadiness. Righteousness is portrayed as a living standard that draws the company of the wise.
After Dhṛtarāṣṭra has taken to forest life, eminent figures—Vyāsa with disciples, other siddhas and sages, and the aged royal sage Śatayūpa—arrive to meet him, marking a significant moment of counsel and sanctification around the retired king.