Shloka 15
Saṃsāra-gahana-jñāna: Vidura’s Account of Embodiment, Bondage, and Dharmic Release (संसारगहन-ज्ञानम्)
यदा प्राज्ञाश्न मूर्खाश्न धनवन्तश्न निर्धना: । कुलीनाश्चाकुलीनाश्न मानिनो5थाप्यमानिन:
yadā prājñāś ca mūrkhāś ca dhanavantaś ca nirdhanāḥ | kulīnāś cākulīnāś ca mānino 'thāpy amāninaḥ ||
Vidura said: “When the wise and the foolish alike, the wealthy and the poor alike, the well-born and the low-born alike, and those who are honored as well as those who are without honor—when all these stand on the same footing (in the face of calamity and death), then pride of status and possession is shown to be hollow.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
External distinctions—intelligence, wealth, birth, and social honor—do not ultimately protect anyone; in crisis and mortality all are leveled, so one should cultivate humility and dharmic conduct rather than pride.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra catastrophe (Strī Parva), Vidura speaks in a reflective, admonitory tone, pointing out how the devastation renders social and personal hierarchies meaningless.