Mahabharata — Stree Parva, Shloka 12
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
सर्वे स्वाध्यायवन्तो हि सर्वे च चरितव्रता: । सर्वे चाभिमुखा: क्षीणास्तत्र का परिदेवना
sarve svādhyāyavanto hi sarve ca caritavratāḥ | sarve cābhimukhāḥ kṣīṇās tatra kā paridevanā ||
Vidura dit : « Tous étaient voués à la récitation et à l’étude du Veda ; tous vivaient selon des vœux de discipline. Et tous ont trouvé la mort en faisant face à l’ennemi sur le champ de bataille. Dès lors, quel motif de lamentation ? »
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura frames grief through dharma: those who lived with discipline (svādhyāya and vrata) and died facing the enemy attained an honorable end; therefore uncontrolled lamentation is ethically misplaced.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra slaughter, Vidura addresses the mourners and attempts to restrain their sorrow by recalling the virtues and valor of the fallen warriors.
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