Shloka 20

उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय 33: धृतराष्ट्र-विदुर संवादः (विदुरनीतिः)

Devanagari script

अनारशभ्या भवन्त्यर्था: केचिन्नित्यं तथागता: । कृत: पुरुषकारो हि भवेद्‌ येषु निरर्थक:,कुछ ऐसे व्यर्थ कार्य हैं, जो नित्य अप्राप्त होनेके कारण आरम्भ करनेयोग्य नहीं होते; क्योंकि उनके लिये किया हुआ पुरुषार्थ भी व्यर्थ हो जाता है

Transliteration

anāraśabhyā bhavanty arthāḥ kecin nityaṃ tathāgatāḥ | kṛtaḥ puruṣakāro hi bhaved yeṣu nirarthakaḥ ||

Translation

Dice Vidura: Hay fines que, por su propia naturaleza, son inalcanzables en todo tiempo; por eso no son dignos de emprenderse. Pues en tales casos, aun el esfuerzo humano, aunque aplicado con sinceridad, termina siendo estéril. El sabio, que discierne lo que puede y lo que no puede lograrse, no malgasta su resolución en lo que no produce bien verdadero.

Word by Word

अनारशभ्याःnot-to-be-begun / not fit to be undertaken

भवन्तिare / become

अर्थाःpurposes / undertakings / matters

केचित्some

नित्यम्always

तथाthus / in that manner

आगताःcome / obtained / arrived (as they have come to be)

कृतःdone / made

पुरुषकारःhuman effort / exertion

हिindeed / for

भवेत्would be / may become

येषुin which (cases/things)

निरर्थकःfruitless / purposeless

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Discernment (viveka) in choosing goals: do not invest effort in aims that are inherently unattainable, because even sincere exertion becomes futile; wise action begins with judging feasibility and meaningful outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Vidura offers Nīti-style counsel during the tense pre-war negotiations, urging clear judgment and restraint; here he emphasizes that some undertakings are pointless by nature and should be avoided.