Shloka 15
Saṃsāra-mārga-vistaraḥ
Vidura’s Expanded Account of the Path
विद्वान् पुरुष कहते हैं कि प्राणियोंका शरीर रथके समान है, सत्त्व (सत्त्वगुणप्रधान बुद्धि) सारथि है, इन्द्रियाँ घोड़े हैं और मन लगाम है। जो पुरुष स्वेच्छापूर्वक दौड़ते हुए उन घोड़ोंके वेगका अनुसरण करता है, वह तो इस संसारचक्रमें पहियेके समान घूमता रहता है ।। यस्तान् संयमते बुद्धया संयतो न निवर्तते । ये तु संसारचक्रेडस्मिं श्व॒क्रवत् परिवर्तिते
vidvān puruṣāḥ kathayanti yat prāṇināṁ śarīraṁ ratha-samam; sattvaṁ (sattva-guṇa-pradhānā buddhiḥ) sārathiḥ, indriyāṇi aśvāḥ, manaś ca lagāmaḥ. yaḥ puruṣaḥ svecchayā dhāvataḥ tān aśvānāṁ vegam anusarati, sa tu asmin saṁsāra-cakre cakravat parivartate. yas tān saṁyamate buddhyā saṁyataḥ na nivartate; ye tu saṁsāra-cakre ’smin cakravat parivartante.
Vidura said: The wise declare that a living being’s body is like a chariot: the lucid, sattva-guided intellect is the charioteer, the senses are the horses, and the mind is the rein. A man who, of his own accord, runs after the speed of those horses—following wherever the senses pull—keeps revolving in the wheel of worldly existence. But one who restrains them through discernment remains self-controlled and does not fall back into that turning cycle.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human bondage is sustained by voluntarily chasing sense-impulses; freedom begins with buddhi (discernment) restraining the senses and steadying the mind, so one no longer revolves in saṁsāra.
In Strī Parva’s lament-filled aftermath of war, Vidura offers moral instruction: he uses the chariot analogy to explain inner governance—how uncontrolled senses keep one trapped, and how disciplined intelligence leads to stability and release.