Shloka 69
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
रोगार्दिता न फलान्याद्रियन्ते न वै लभन्ते विषयेषु तत्त्वम् । दुःखोपेता रोगिणो नित्यमेव न बुध्यन्ते धनभोगान् न सौख्यम्
rogārditā na phalāny ādriyante na vai labhante viṣayeṣu tattvam | duḥkhopetā rogiṇo nityam eva na budhyante dhanabhogān na saukhyam ||
ヴィドゥラは述べる。「病に苦しむ者は、甘き果実さえ喜ばず、感官の対象にも真の味わいを見いださぬ。病人は常に苦の重みに沈み、財が買う享楽を真に悟ることも、まことの幸福を得ることもない。」
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Illness can nullify the appeal and even the perceived ‘essence’ of worldly pleasures; therefore, wealth and sense-enjoyments are not reliable foundations for happiness, and one should cultivate a steadier, dharmic understanding of well-being.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura is giving moral counsel (nīti) in a tense pre-war context, using the example of the sick person to illustrate how external pleasures fail when inner conditions—like health and peace—are disturbed.