Shloka 12
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
सर्वे स्वाध्यायवन्तो हि सर्वे च चरितव्रता: । सर्वे चाभिमुखा: क्षीणास्तत्र का परिदेवना,वे सभी वीर वेदोंका स्वाध्याय करनेवाले थे। सबने ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन किया था तथा वे सभी युद्धमें शत्रुका सामना करते हुए वीरगतिको प्राप्त हुए हैं; अतः उनके लिये शोक करनेकी क्या बात है?
sarve svādhyāyavanto hi sarve ca caritavratāḥ | sarve cābhimukhāḥ kṣīṇās tatra kā paridevanā ||
Vidura said: “All of them were devoted to the recitation and study of the Veda; all of them lived by disciplined vows. And all of them met their end facing the foe in battle. In such a case, what ground is there for lamentation?”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura frames grief through dharma: those who lived with discipline (svādhyāya and vrata) and died facing the enemy attained an honorable end; therefore uncontrolled lamentation is ethically misplaced.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra slaughter, Vidura addresses the mourners and attempts to restrain their sorrow by recalling the virtues and valor of the fallen warriors.