Shloka 47
Vidura’s Return; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Departure; Nārada’s Instruction on Kāla and Detachment
अहस्तानि सहस्तानामपदानि चतुष्पदाम् । फल्गूनि तत्र महतां जीवो जीवस्य जीवनम् ॥ ४७ ॥
ahastāni sahastānām apadāni catuṣ-padām phalgūni tatra mahatāṁ jīvo jīvasya jīvanam
Yang tak bertangan menjadi mangsa bagi yang bertangan; yang tak berkaki menjadi mangsa bagi yang berkaki empat. Yang lemah menjadi sandaran hidup bagi yang kuat—hukum umumnya: satu makhluk hidup menjadi kehidupan (makanan) bagi yang lain.
A systematic law of subsistence in the struggle for existence is there by the supreme will, and there is no escape for anyone by any amount of planning. The living beings who have come to the material world against the will of the Supreme Being are under the control of a supreme power called māyā-śakti, the deputed agent of the Lord, and this daivī māyā is meant to pinch the conditioned souls by threefold miseries, one of which is explained here in this verse: the weak are the subsistence of the strong. No one is strong enough to protect himself from the onslaught of a stronger, and by the will of the Lord there are systematic categories of the weak, the stronger and the strongest. There is nothing to be lamented if a tiger eats a weaker animal, including a man, because that is the law of the Supreme Lord. But although the law states that a human being must subsist on another living being, there is the law of good sense also, for the human being is meant to obey the laws of the scriptures. This is impossible for other animals. The human being is meant for self-realization, and for that purpose he is not to eat anything which is not first offered to the Lord. The Lord accepts from His devotee all kinds of food preparations made of vegetables, fruits, leaves and grains. Fruits, leaves and milk in different varieties can be offered to the Lord, and after the Lord accepts the foodstuff, the devotee can partake of the prasāda, by which all suffering in the struggle for existence will be gradually mitigated. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) . Even those who are accustomed to eat animals can offer foodstuff, not to the Lord directly, but to an agent of the Lord, under certain conditions of religious rites. Injunctions of the scriptures are meant not to encourage the eaters of animals, but to restrict them by regulative principles.
FAQs
This verse states that within the material world, the strong sustain themselves by the weak—one living being becomes the livelihood of another—highlighting the need for detachment and spiritual shelter.
Vidura spoke to awaken Dhṛtarāṣṭra from complacency and dependence, urging him to recognize the unsafe, competitive nature of worldly life and to leave home for spiritual advancement.
See material security as temporary, reduce exploitative or overly competitive living, and prioritize sādhana—hearing Bhagavatam, devotion, and simple living—so one’s life is guided by dharma rather than survival anxiety.