Shloka 19
Saṃsāra-gahana-jñāna: Vidura’s Account of Embodiment, Bondage, and Dharmic Release (संसारगहन-ज्ञानम्)
प्रत्यक्ष च परोक्षं च यो निशम्य श्रुति त्विमाम् । अध्रुवे जीवलोकेडस्मिन् यो धर्ममनुपालयन् । जन्मप्रभृति वर्तेत प्राप्तुयात् परमां गतिम्,इस क्षणभंगुर जगतमें जो पुरुष इस वेदोक्त उपदेशको साक्षात् जानकर या किसीके द्वारा सुनकर जन्मसे ही निरन्तर धर्मका पालन करता है, वह परम गतिको प्राप्त होता है
pratyakṣaṃ ca parokṣaṃ ca yo niśamya śrutiṃ tv imām | adhruve jīvaloke 'smin yo dharmam anupālayan | janmaprabhṛti varteta prāpnuyāt paramāṃ gatim ||
Whoever, having understood this Vedic teaching—either directly by personal realization or indirectly by hearing it from others—lives in this unstable world of living beings with steadfast observance of dharma from the very beginning of life, attains the highest state.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Whether one knows the sacred teaching by direct realization or by hearing it from a teacher, consistent lifelong practice of dharma in an impermanent world leads to the highest spiritual end (paramā gati).
Vidura is delivering a moral instruction in the Strī Parva context, emphasizing that amid the fragility of worldly life, steadfast adherence to dharma—grounded in śruti—brings the supreme attainment.