Shloka 6
शोक-शमन उपदेशः
Instruction on the Pacification of Grief
निर्मासैरस्थिभूयिष्ठेगात्रि: सनायुनिबन्धनै: । कि विशेषं प्रपश्यन्ति तत्र तेषां परे जना:,जब दिद्वान्-मूर्ख, धनवान् और निर्धन सभी श्मशान-भूमिमें जाकर निश्चिन्त सो जाते हैं, उस समय उनके मांसरहित नाड़ियोंसे बँधे हुए तथा अस्थिबहुल अंगोंको देखकर क्या दूसरे लोग वहाँ उनमें कोई ऐसा अन्तर देख पाते हैं, जिससे वे उनके कुल और रूपकी विशेषताको समझ सकें; फिर भी वे मनुष्य एक-दूसरेको क्यों चाहते हैं? इसलिये कि उनकी बुद्धि ठगी गयी है
nirmāṃsair asthibhūyiṣṭhair gātraiḥ snāyunibandhanaiḥ | ki viśeṣaṃ prapaśyanti tatra teṣāṃ pare janāḥ ||
Vidura said: “When bodies lie in the cremation-ground—stripped of flesh, mostly bone, held together only by sinews—what distinguishing mark can other people truly perceive there? Who can then recognize lineage, beauty, or status? And yet, in life, people cling to one another and form attachments as though such differences were real—because their understanding has been deceived.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura highlights the impermanence and sameness of all bodies at death: once flesh and social markers vanish, no real distinction of beauty, wealth, or lineage remains. Therefore, excessive attachment and pride in status are forms of delusion; wisdom lies in seeing beyond bodily and social differences.
In the Stree Parva’s aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, amid mourning and the sight of death, Vidura speaks to redirect the mind from grief and worldly fixation toward discernment. He uses the image of the cremation-ground to question why humans cling to distinctions that cannot survive death.