Shloka 8

Adhyāya 6: Vidura’s Saṃsāra-Upamā

The Allegory of the Well, Time, and Desire

Devanagari script

यस्तत्र वसते5धस्तान्महाहि: काल एव सः | अन्तक: सर्वभूतानां देहिनां सर्वहार्यसौ,नरेश्वर! उस वनमें जो कुआँ कहा गया है, वह देहधारियोंका शरीर है। उसमें नीचे जो विशाल नाग रहता है, वह काल ही है। वही सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंका अन्त करनेवाला और देहधारियोंका सर्वस्व हर लेनेवाला है

Transliteration

yastatra vasate 'dhastān mahāhiḥ kāla eva saḥ | antakaḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ dehināṁ sarvahāry asau, nareśvara |

Translation

Vidura said: “The great serpent that dwells there in the depths is none other than Time itself. O king of men, it is Time that becomes the end of all beings and strips embodied creatures of everything they possess.”

Word by Word

यःwho

तत्रthere

वसतेdwells

अधस्तात्below

महाहिःthe great serpent

कालःTime/Death

एवindeed

सःhe/that

अन्तकःender, destroyer (Death)

सर्वभूतानाम्of all beings

देहिनाम्of embodied ones

सर्वहारीall-seizing, taking everything away

असौthat (yonder one)

नरेश्वरO lord of men (king)

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

nareśvara (the king addressed)

kāla (Time/Death)

mahāhi (great serpent)

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

What is the core teaching?

Time (kāla) is portrayed as the inevitable ‘great serpent’ that ends all lives and takes away all possessions; the ethical thrust is to cultivate detachment, sobriety, and dharmic living in awareness of mortality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura continues an allegorical explanation, identifying the ‘great serpent in the depths’ as Time/Death, addressing the king and emphasizing that all embodied beings are ultimately overcome by this force.