Shloka 7
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
धर्मेणैवर्षयस्तीर्णा धर्मे लोका: प्रतिष्ठिता: । धर्मेण देवा ववृधुर्धर्मे चार्थ: समाहित:,धर्मसे ही ऋषियोंने संसार-समुद्रको पार किया है। धर्मपर ही सम्पूर्ण लोक टिके हुए हैं। धर्मसे ही देवताओंकी उन्नति हुई है और धर्ममें ही अर्थकी भी स्थिति है
dharmeṇaiva ṛṣayas tīrṇā dharme lokāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ | dharmeṇa devā vavṛdhur dharme cārthaḥ samāhitaḥ ||
Vidura declares that it is by dharma alone that the seers have crossed the ocean of worldly existence. All worlds stand established upon dharma; by dharma the gods have prospered, and within dharma even artha—material well-being and orderly prosperity—finds its proper place and stability.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is presented as the universal foundation: it enables spiritual liberation (the seers crossing saṃsāra), sustains social and cosmic order (the worlds established), empowers divine flourishing (the gods prosper), and rightly governs material prosperity (artha is stable only when grounded in dharma).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vidura speaks as a moral counselor, emphasizing to the listener that righteousness is not merely personal virtue but the very support of cosmic stability and political-economic well-being.