Shloka 28
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
अनिष्टसम्प्रयोगाच्च विप्रयोगात् प्रियस्य च
aniṣṭasamprayogācca viprayogāt priyasya ca
Vidura points to a fundamental source of human sorrow: the pain that arises from being forced into association with what is unwanted, and from separation from what is dear. In the aftermath of catastrophe, he frames grief not as random fate but as a predictable consequence of attachment and circumstance, urging a steadier, dharmic endurance amid loss.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sorrow commonly arises from two conditions: contact with what one does not want and separation from what one loves. Recognizing these causes supports a more disciplined, dharmic response to grief rather than being overwhelmed by it.
In Strī Parva’s lamentation-filled setting after the war, Vidura speaks as a counselor, articulating the psychological roots of grief to help the hearers understand and steady themselves amid bereavement and distress.