Mahabharata 11.2.28 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 28

Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

अनिष्टसम्प्रयोगाच्च विप्रयोगात्‌ प्रियस्य च

Transliteration

aniṣṭasamprayogācca viprayogāt priyasya ca

Translation

Vidura pointed to a fundamental source of human sorrow: the pain that arises from being forced into association with what is unwanted, and from separation from what is dear.

Word by Word

• अनिष्टसम्प्रयोगात्: from association with what is undesirable
• अनिष्टसम्प्रयोगात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनिष्टसम्प्रयोग
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विप्रयोगात्: from separation
• विप्रयोगात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रयोग
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• प्रियस्य: of the beloved/dear (one/thing)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिय
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sorrow commonly arises from two conditions: contact with what one does not want and separation from what one loves. Recognizing these causes supports a more disciplined, dharmic response to grief rather than being overwhelmed by it.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Strī Parva’s lamentation-filled setting after the war, Vidura speaks as a counselor, articulating the psychological roots of grief to help the hearers understand and steady themselves amid bereavement and distress.