Shloka 100
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
नवद्वारमिदं वेश्म त्रिस्थूणं पठचसाक्षिकम् | क्षेत्रज्ञाधिष्ठितं विद्वान् यो वेद स पर: कवि:
navadvāram idaṁ veśma tristhūṇaṁ pañcasākṣikam | kṣetrajñādhiṣṭhitaṁ vidvān yo veda sa paraḥ kaviḥ ||
Vidura says: This body is like a house with nine gates, supported by three pillars and observed by five witnesses. The truly wise person is the one who understands it as a field presided over by the Knower of the Field (the Self). Such a person is a supreme seer—one whose insight penetrates beyond outward action to the inner ruler, and therefore acts with discernment and restraint.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
To recognize the body as an instrument—'a nine-gated house'—and to discern the indwelling Self (kṣetrajña) as the true governor. Such inner knowledge grounds ethical conduct: restraint of the senses, freedom from delusion, and action guided by discrimination rather than impulse.
In the Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel meant to avert ruin and guide right conduct during the tense pre-war negotiations. Here he shifts from political advice to spiritual-ethical instruction, teaching that true wisdom lies in understanding the inner Self behind the body and senses.