Shloka 3

Āśramamaṇḍala-darśana and Ṛṣi-samāgama

Observation of the Hermitage Precinct and the Assembly of Sages

Devanagari script

विदुरश्न महाप्राज्ञो ययौ सिद्धि तपोबलात्‌ । धृतराष्ट्र: समासाद्य व्यासं चैव तपस्विनम्‌,उन नरश्रेष्ठ राजा धृतराष्ट्रने राजधर्म, ब्रह्मविद्या तथा बुद्धिका यथार्थ निश्चय भी पा लिया था। महाज्ञानी विदुरने तो अपने तपोबलसे सिद्धि प्राप्त की थी; परंतु धृतराष्ट्रने तपस्वी व्यासका आश्रय लेकर सिद्धिलाभ किया था

Transliteration

viduraś ca mahāprājño yayau siddhiṁ tapobalāt | dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ samāsādya vyāsaṁ caiva tapasvinam ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Vidura, el gran sabio de profunda inteligencia, alcanzó la perfección espiritual por la fuerza de sus austeridades. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, en cambio, obtuvo esa misma realización al acercarse y tomar refugio en el asceta Vyāsa.

Word by Word

• {'viduraḥ': 'Vidura

• the wise counselor of the Kuru court', 'mahāprājñaḥ': 'greatly wise

• possessing profound discernment', 'yayau': 'went

• reached (a final state)', 'siddhim': 'spiritual accomplishment

• liberation-like attainment', 'tapo-balāt': 'by the strength/power of austerity (tapas)', 'dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra

• blind Kuru king, father of the Kauravas', 'samāsādya': 'having approached

• having taken recourse to', 'vyāsam': 'Vyāsa

• Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, seer and teacher', 'ca eva': 'and indeed

• also', 'tapasvinam': 'the ascetic

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vidura
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Spiritual fulfillment is presented as attainable through two aligned means: (1) one’s own disciplined austerity (tapas) and (2) humble recourse to a realized guide (Vyāsa). The verse implicitly contrasts worldly kingship with inner sovereignty—true success is ethical and spiritual completion, not political power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports the outcomes for two elders of the Kuru story: Vidura attains siddhi through his own tapas, while Dhṛtarāṣṭra attains it by approaching the ascetic Vyāsa. This situates the forest-retirement phase as a culmination where key figures move toward final spiritual resolution.