Shloka 69
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
रोगार्दिता न फलान्याद्रियन्ते न वै लभन्ते विषयेषु तत्त्वम् । दुःखोपेता रोगिणो नित्यमेव न बुध्यन्ते धनभोगान् न सौख्यम्,रोगसे पीड़ित मनुष्य मधुर फलोंका आदर नहीं करते, विषयोंमें भी उन्हें कुछ सुख या सार नहीं मिलता। रोगी सदा ही दुःखी रहते हैं; वे न तो धनसम्बधी भोगोंका और न सुखका ही अनुभव करते हैं
rogārditā na phalāny ādriyante na vai labhante viṣayeṣu tattvam | duḥkhopetā rogiṇo nityam eva na budhyante dhanabhogān na saukhyam ||
Vidura observes that those afflicted by illness take no delight even in sweet fruits, nor do they find any real essence in sense-objects. The sick live continually under the weight of suffering; they neither truly perceive the enjoyments that wealth can buy nor experience genuine happiness.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Illness can nullify the appeal and even the perceived ‘essence’ of worldly pleasures; therefore, wealth and sense-enjoyments are not reliable foundations for happiness, and one should cultivate a steadier, dharmic understanding of well-being.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura is giving moral counsel (nīti) in a tense pre-war context, using the example of the sick person to illustrate how external pleasures fail when inner conditions—like health and peace—are disturbed.