Shloka 6
Saṃsāra-gahana-jñāna: Vidura’s Account of Embodiment, Bondage, and Dharmic Release (संसारगहन-ज्ञानम्)
तस्मान्मुक्तः स संसारादन्यान् पश्यत्युपद्रवान् | ग्रहास्तमनुगच्छन्ति सारमेया इवामिषम्
tasmān muktaḥ sa saṃsārād anyān paśyaty upadravān | grahās tam anugacchanti sārameyā ivāmiṣam ||
Therefore, once he is freed from the bondage of worldly existence, he looks on and recognizes the calamities that still beset others. Yet hostile forces continue to pursue him—like dogs running after a piece of meat—showing how danger and malice may still follow even one who has inwardly renounced attachment.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura highlights that liberation from saṃsāra is primarily an inner release from attachment; one can clearly perceive the troubles that bind others. Yet even a detached person may still be pursued by external hostility—illustrated by the simile of dogs chasing meat—so ethical steadiness and vigilance remain necessary.
In Vidura’s counsel within the Stree Parva context of grief and aftermath, he uses a vivid image to explain how troubles and ‘grasping’ forces can continue to follow a person, even after he has become inwardly free, emphasizing the persistence of worldly dangers amid post-war turmoil.