Shloka 5
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
विदुर उवाच बाहुश्रुत्यं तपस्त्याग: श्रद्धा यज्ञक्रिया क्षमा । भावशुद्धिर्दया सत्यं संयमश्चात्मसम्पद:
vidura uvāca bāhuśrutyaṁ tapas tyāgaḥ śraddhā yajñakriyā kṣamā | bhāvaśuddhir dayā satyaṁ saṁyamaś cātmasampadaḥ ||
Vidura dit : «Ô Roi, l’érudition étendue dans les Écritures, l’austérité, le renoncement, la foi, l’accomplissement des devoirs sacrificiels, la patience, la pureté du cœur, la compassion, la véracité et la maîtrise de soi — telles sont les véritables richesses de l’âme.»
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura defines 'ātma-sampad'—the inner wealth of a person—as a set of virtues: learning grounded in scripture, disciplined austerity, renunciation, faith, dutiful sacred action, forgiveness, purity of intention, compassion, truthfulness, and self-restraint. The emphasis is that real prosperity is moral and spiritual, not external.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vidura addresses the king and enumerates the qualities that constitute a noble inner character. The verse functions as a concise ethical catalogue within a larger discourse on righteous conduct and peace after conflict.