Shloka 16
Saṃsāra-mārga-vistaraḥ
Vidura’s Expanded Account of the Path
संसारे भ्रमतां राजन् दुःखमेतद्धि जायते,राजन! संसारमें भटकनेवालोंको यह दु:ख प्राप्त होता ही है; अतः विज्ञ पुरुषको इस संसारबन्धनकी निवृत्तिके लिये अवश्य यत्न करना चाहिये। इस विषयमें कदापि उपेक्षा नहीं करनी चाहिये; नहीं तो यह संसार सैकड़ों शाखाओंमें फैलकर बहुत बड़ा हो जाता है
saṃsāre bhramatāṃ rājan duḥkham etad dhi jāyate | tasmād vijñaḥ pumān loke saṃsārabandhananivṛttaye niyataṃ yateta | asmin viṣaye kadācid api na pramādam ācaret | anyathā ayaṃ saṃsāraḥ śākhāśatair vistṛtya mahān bhavati ||
Vidura said: “O King, for those who wander in the round of worldly existence, this suffering inevitably arises. Therefore a discerning person must surely strive to be freed from the bondage of saṃsāra. In this matter one should never be negligent; otherwise this worldly entanglement spreads into hundreds of branches and grows vast.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Suffering is an inevitable result of wandering in saṃsāra; therefore one must actively and consistently strive for release from worldly bondage, avoiding negligence that allows attachments and complications to multiply.
In the Stree Parva’s grief-filled aftermath of the war, Vidura addresses the king with counsel: he interprets worldly distress as a natural consequence of saṃsāra and urges vigilant effort toward detachment and liberation rather than complacency.