Shloka 10
Adhyāya 6: Vidura’s Saṃsāra-Upamā
The Allegory of the Well, Time, and Desire
स यस्तु कूपवीनाहे तं॑ वृक्ष परिसर्पति । षड्वक्त्र: कुज्जरो राजन् स तु संवत्सर: स्मृत:,राजन! जो कुएँके मुखबन्धके समीप छ: मुखों-वाला हाथी उस वृक्षकी ओर बढ़ रहा है, उसे संवत्सर माना गया है
sa yastu kūpavīn01he ta vka pariarpati | avaktra kujjaro r01jan sa tu sa vatsara smta |
O King, that six-faced elephant which advances toward the tree, close by the mouth of the well, should be understood as the “year” itself.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (the year) relentlessly advances; recognizing its inevitability is meant to awaken urgency for dharmic living, restraint, and wise priorities amid suffering and uncertainty.
Vidura continues an allegorical description: a ‘six-faced elephant’ moving toward a tree near the well’s mouth-covering is identified as the ‘year,’ a symbolic element in a larger metaphor about life, danger, and the steady approach of time.