Shloka 13

शोक-शमन उपदेशः

Instruction on the Pacification of Grief

Devanagari script

छिन्न॑ वाप्यवरोप्यन्तमवतीर्णमथापि वा । आदी वाप्यथवा शुष्क॑ पच्यमानमथापि वा

Transliteration

chinnaṃ vāpy avaropyantam avatīrṇam athāpi vā | ādī vāpy athavā śuṣkaṃ pacyamānam athāpi vā

Translation

Qu’on soit tranché, traîné au loin ou déjà tombé ; qu’on brûle, ou qu’on se dessèche en étant roussi : même dans une telle extrémité, les sages n’abandonnent pas la voie de la conduite droite, le dharma.

Word by Word

छिन्नम्cut off, severed

वाor

अपिalso, even

अवरोप्यम्to be uprooted/removed, being uprooted

अन्तम्end, limit

अवतीर्णम्descended, fallen down

अथthen, and

अपिalso, even

वाor

आदीbeginning etc.; (here) beginnings (dual form as read)

वाor

अपिalso, even

अथवाor else

शुष्कम्dry, withered

पच्यमानम्being cooked/burnt, roasting

अथthen, and

अपिalso, even

वाor

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?

Even amid extreme bodily danger and suffering—being cut down, dragged, fallen, burning, or scorched—one should not forsake dharma; the verse underscores ethical steadiness and humane restraint in times of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Stree Parva’s aftermath of the war, Vidura speaks in a moral register, describing dire conditions that befall people in catastrophe and war, to emphasize the gravity of suffering and the need for righteous conduct and compassion.