Shloka 98
Adhyaya 32: Saṃjaya’s Return, Audience with Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Ethical Admonition
समये च प्रियालाप: स्वयूथ्येषु समुन्नति: । अभिप्रेतस्य लाभश्व॒ पूजा च जनसंसदि
samaye ca priyālāpaḥ svayūthyeṣu samunnatiḥ | abhipretasya lābhaś ca pūjā ca janasansadi, bhārata |
Vidura says: “O Bhārata, these are seen as the very essence of joy—and they also become the means of worldly happiness: meeting with friends, gaining greater wealth, embracing one’s son, engaging in sexual union, speaking pleasing words at the proper time, rising in standing among one’s own group, obtaining what one has desired, and receiving honor in the public assembly.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura identifies eight commonly recognized sources of worldly joy—social connection, prosperity, family affection, sexual pleasure, timely pleasant speech, status among one’s peers, fulfillment of desires, and public honor—implying that a ruler should understand what people seek and how such pursuits shape conduct.
In Vidura’s counsel to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the Udyoga Parva, he is describing human motivations and the constituents of happiness as part of broader political-ethical instruction meant to guide the king’s judgment during the tense pre-war negotiations.