Shloka 11
Saṃsāra-mārga-vistaraḥ
Vidura’s Expanded Account of the Path
नरेश्वर! यदि शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और नाना प्रकारकी गन्धोंसे युक्त, मज्जा और मांसरूपी बड़ी भारी कीचड़से भरे हुए एवं सब ओरसे अवलम्बशून्य इस शरीररूपी कूपमें रहनेवाला मनुष्य इन व्याधियोंसे किसी तरह मुक्त हो जाय तो भी अन्तमें रूप-सौन्दर्यका विनाश करनेवाली वृद्धावस्था तो उसे घेर ही लेती है ।। संवत्सराश्ष मासाशक्ष पक्षाहोरात्रसंधय: । क्रमेणास्योपयुञ्जन्ति रूपमायुस्तथैव च
nareśvara! yadi śabda-sparśa-rūpa-rasa-nānāprakāra-gandhaiḥ yuktaṃ majjā-māṃsa-rūpī-bhārī-kīcaḍa-pūrṇaṃ sarvataḥ avalamba-śūnyaṃ śarīra-rūpaṃ kūpaṃ nivāsī manuṣyaḥ etābhir vyādhibhiḥ kathaṃcid mukto 'pi syāt, tathāpi ante rūpa-saundarya-vināśinī vṛddhāvasthā tam avaśyaṃ gṛhṇāti. saṃvatsarāś ca māsāś ca pakṣāhorātra-sandhayaḥ krameṇāsya upayuñjanti rūpam āyus tathaiva ca.
Vidura says: “O king, even if a man dwelling in this body—like a well filled with the heavy mire of marrow and flesh, propped up by nothing and driven by the lures of sound, touch, form, taste, and countless scents—somehow escapes these diseases, in the end old age still surrounds him, destroying beauty and charm. Years and months, fortnights, days and nights, and their junctions, in due order, steadily consume his form and his lifespan as well.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even if one avoids illness, aging is unavoidable; time steadily consumes both bodily beauty and lifespan. The ethical thrust is toward detachment from sensual fixation and pride in appearance, and toward sober reflection on what is lasting and dharmic.
In the Strī Parva’s lament-filled aftermath of war, Vidura addresses the king with counsel. He uses stark bodily imagery and the measure of time (years, months, fortnights, days, nights) to underline the inevitability of decline, guiding the listener away from grief-driven delusion and toward clear-sighted understanding.