Shloka 20
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
न चास्य जीविते राजन् निर्वेद: समजायत
na cāsya jīvite rājan nirvedaḥ samajāyata
Ô roi, à l’égard de sa propre vie, nul dégoût du monde ni remords ne s’éleva en lui ; même après ce qui s’était produit, il ne se tourna pas vers l’intérieur avec repentir ni détachement.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura highlights a moral failure: even after catastrophic events, a person may remain untouched by remorse or dispassion. The verse implies that ethical awakening is shown by nirveda—an inner turning away from wrongdoing and worldly fixation—without which reform and dharmic clarity do not arise.
In Strī Parva, amid grief and reckoning after the war, Vidura addresses the king and comments on a particular person’s inner state: despite the situation, no nirveda arose in him regarding his own life, indicating continued attachment or lack of repentance.