Shloka 20
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 34 — Vidura’s Counsel on Deliberation, Speech-Discipline, and Dharmic Kingship
विरोचन उवाच आवां कुत्र गमिष्याव: प्राणयोर्विपणे कृते | नतु देवेष्वहं स्थाता न मनुष्येषु कहिचित्
virocana uvāca | āvāṁ kutra gamiṣyāvaḥ prāṇayor vipaṇe kṛte | na tu deveṣv ahaṁ sthātā na manuṣyeṣu kahicit |
Virocana berkata: “Kalau begitu, setelah nyawa dipertaruhkan, ke mana kita berdua akan pergi? Aku tidak memiliki kedudukan di antara para dewa, dan di antara manusia pun tak ada tempat yang aman bagiku.”
विरोचन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Staking one’s life or honor in a reckless wager can leave a person without refuge—socially, morally, or spiritually. The verse highlights the ethical cost of choices that sever one’s standing both among the noble (devas, as an ideal of higher order) and among ordinary society (manuṣyas).
Virocana voices anxiety after a life-staking wager has been made. He asks where the two of them can go afterward, confessing that he has no secure place either with the gods or among humans—suggesting isolation, loss of legitimacy, or fear of judgment following the high-stakes act.