Shloka 15
शोक-शमन उपदेशः
Instruction on the Pacification of Grief
जैसे मिट्टीका बर्तन बनाये जानेके समय कभी चाकपर चढ़ाते ही नष्ट हो जाता है, कभी कुछ-कुछ बननेपर, कभी पूरा बन जानेपर, कभी सूतसे काट देनेपर, कभी चाकसे उतारते समय, कभी उतर जानेपर, कभी गीली या सूखी अवस्थामें, कभी पकाये जाते समय, कभी आवाँसे उतारते समय, कभी पाकस्थानसे उठाकर ले जाते समय अथवा कभी उसे उपयोगमें लाते समय फूट जाता है; ऐसी ही दशा देहधारियोंके शरीरोंकी भी होती है ।। गर्भस्थो वा प्रसूतो वाप्यथ वा दिवसान्तर: । अर्धमासगतो वापि मासमात्रगतो5पि वा,कोई गर्भमें रहते समय, कोई पैदा हो जानेपर, कोई कई दिनोंका होनेपर, कोई पंद्रह दिनका, कोई एक मासका तथा कोई एक या दो सालका होनेपर, कोई युवावस्थामें, कोई मध्यावस्थामें अथवा कोई वृद्धावस्थामें पहुँचनेपर मृत्युको प्राप्त हो जाता है
yathā mṛttikā-bhājanaṁ nirmīyamāṇaṁ kadācid eva cakre āropitamātraṁ vinaśyati, kadācit kiñcid eva nirmite, kadācit sampūrṇaṁ nirmitaṁ, kadācit sūtreṇa chittvā, kadācic cakrāt avatārayataḥ, kadācid avatīrṇe, kadācid ārdrāvasthāyāṁ śuṣkāvasthāyāṁ vā, kadācit pacyamāne, kadācid āvātaḥ (āvāyāḥ) avatārayataḥ, kadācit pāka-sthānāt uddhṛtya nīyamāne, athavā kadācid upayoge prayujyamāne bhidyate; evam eva deha-dhāriṇāṁ śarīrāṇām api daśā bhavati. garbhastho vā prasūto vāpy atha vā divasāntaraḥ | ardha-māsa-gato vāpi māsa-mātra-gato 'pi vā |
Vidura said: Just as a clay pot, while being made, may break at any point—when it is first set upon the wheel, when it is only partly shaped, when it is fully formed, when it is cut off with a thread, when it is lifted from the wheel, after it has been removed, while still wet or after it has dried, while being fired, when taken out of the kiln, when carried away from the firing place, or even when finally put to use—so too is the condition of embodied beings: their bodies can perish at any stage. Some die while still in the womb; some at birth; some after a few days; some at a fortnight; some at a month (and likewise at later ages).
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Death is unpredictable and can come at any stage, just as a pot can break at any point in its making or use; therefore one should cultivate detachment, humility, and timely practice of dharma rather than relying on a false sense of permanence.
In the Strī Parva’s consolatory discourse after the war, Vidura speaks to steady the mind amid grief, using the potter-and-pot image to explain the fragility of embodied life and the inevitability of loss.