Shloka 4

Chapter 57: Duryodhana’s Accusation and Vidura’s Counsel on Anger and Truthful Speech

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट उवाच नेह क्षत्त: कलहस्तप्स्यते मां न चेद्‌ दैवं प्रतिलोम॑ भविष्यत्‌ । धात्रा तु दिष्टस्य वशे किलेदं सर्व जगच्चेष्टति न स्वतन्त्रम्‌,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--विदुर! यदि दैव प्रतिकूल न हो, तो मुझे कलह भी वष्ट नहीं दे सकेगा। विधाताका बनाया हुआ यह सम्पूर्ण जगत्‌ दैवके अधीन होकर ही चेष्टा कर रहा है, स्वतन्त्र नहीं है

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | neha kṣattaḥ kalahastapsyate māṃ na ced daivaṃ pratilomaṃ bhaviṣyat | dhātrā tu diṣṭasya vaśe kiledam sarvaṃ jagac ceṣṭati na svatantram |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Ô Kṣattṛ (Vidura), en cette affaire, nulle querelle ne pourra m’accabler—à moins que le destin ne devienne contraire. Car le monde entier, dit-on, agit sous l’empire de ce que le Créateur a décrété ; il n’est pas indépendant.»

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'kṣattaḥ (kṣattṛ)': 'the chamberlain

• here, Vidura addressed by his office/title', 'iha': 'here

• in this matter/context', 'kalahas': 'quarrel, conflict, strife', 'tapsyate (tap-)': 'will torment, afflict, cause suffering', 'mām': 'me', 'na cet': 'unless

• if not', 'daivam': 'fate, divine dispensation', 'pratilomam': 'contrary, adverse, against the proper course', 'bhaviṣyat': 'should become

• were to be', 'dhātrā': 'by the Ordainer/Creator (Dhātṛ)', 'diṣṭa': 'that which is appointed/ordained

• destiny', 'vaśe': 'under the control, in the power of', 'kila': 'indeed, it is said (emphatic/quotative particle)', 'idam': 'this', 'sarvam jagat': 'the entire world', 'ceṣṭati': 'acts, strives, functions', 'na svatantram': 'not independent

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Vidura (Kṣattṛ)
• Dhātṛ (the Creator/Ordainer)
• Daiva (fate)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra voices a deterministic view: worldly events and human actions proceed under the power of daiva (fate) as ordained by Dhātṛ, not by independent human control. Ethically, this can function as a warning against overconfidence, but it can also become a way to evade personal responsibility for choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Sabha Parva context of political tension and impending conflict, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Vidura (his counselor) and claims that no internal quarrel can truly harm him unless fate turns against him, asserting that the world’s movements follow what has been preordained.