Shloka 19
शोक-शमन उपदेशः
Instruction on the Pacification of Grief
एवं संसारगहने उन््मज्जननिमज्जने । कर्मभोगेन बध्यन्ते क्लिश्यन्ते चाल्पबुद्धय:
evaṁ saṁsāra-gahane unmajjana-nimajjane | karma-bhogena badhyante kliśyante cālpa-buddhayaḥ ||
Ainsi, dans l’épaisse forêt du samsara —à remonter et replonger sans cesse— ceux qui ont peu d’intelligence sont enchaînés par la jouissance et la souffrance nées de leurs propres actes, et demeurent continuellement tourmentés.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that ignorance and poor discernment keep beings trapped in saṁsāra: they become bound by the lived consequences of their actions (karma-bhoga) and therefore continue to suffer. The implied remedy is wisdom—seeing clearly, choosing dharmic action, and loosening attachment to outcomes.
In the Strī Parva’s grief-filled aftermath of the war, Vidura speaks in a reflective, instructive mode. He frames human life as a turbulent cycle of rising and sinking, emphasizing how ordinary people, lacking insight, remain entangled in the results of their deeds and are pained by that bondage.