Shloka 17
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
Devanagari script
भूयो भूय: समीहन्ते मधूनि भरतर्षभ
Transliteration
bhūyo bhūyaḥ samīhante madhūni bharatarṣabha
Translation
Vidura says: “O bull among the Bharatas, again and again they strive after ‘sweetness’—the honeyed pleasures of life.”
Word by Word
भूयःagain / more
भूयः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootभूयस्
FormAvyaya (comparative adverb: 'again, more')
भूयःagain and again / repeatedly
भूयः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootभूयस्
FormAvyaya (repetition for emphasis)
समीहन्तेthey strive for / they seek
समीहन्ते:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootसम्-ईह्
FormPresent tense (लट्), 3rd person, plural, Ātmanepada
मधूनिsweet things / honey (pl.)
मधूनि:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमधु
FormNeuter, accusative, plural
भरतर्षभO bull of the Bharatas (best of the Bharata race)
भरतर्षभ:
TypeNoun
Rootभरतर्षभ
FormMasculine, vocative, singular
Speaker
विदुर उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
ViduraB
bharatarṣabha (addressed Bharata/Kuru elder, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Cross References
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Vidura highlights the recurring human tendency to chase pleasurable ‘sweet’ experiences, implying that attachment to such delights persists even amid suffering; ethical clarity requires restraint and discernment rather than compulsive pursuit of pleasure.
In the aftermath of the war, Vidura counsels the Kuru elder addressed as ‘bharatarṣabha,’ reflecting on human nature—how people repeatedly seek pleasure—within a setting of grief and moral reckoning.