Shloka 25

Vidura’s Message to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: Authorization for Dāna and Public Welfare (विदुरवाक्यम्—दानानुज्ञा)

Devanagari script

अस्ति काचिद्‌ विवक्षा तु तां मे निगदत: शृणु । धृतराष्ट्र प्रति नृपं देवर्षे लोकपूजित

Transliteration

asti kācid vivakṣā tu tāṃ me nigadataḥ śṛṇu | dhṛtarāṣṭra prati nṛpaṃ devarṣe lokapūjita ||

Translation

लोकपूजित देवर्षे! राजा धृतराष्ट्राविषयी मला काही बोलण्याची इच्छा आहे. मी जे सांगू इच्छितो ते सांगतो—कृपया ऐका।

Word by Word

• {'asti': 'there is

• exists', 'kācid': 'some

• a certain (feminine)', 'vivakṣā': 'desire/intention to speak

• something one wishes to say', 'tu': 'but

• however (emphatic/contrastive particle)', 'tām': 'that (feminine accusative

• referring to the wish/intention)', 'me': 'of me

• my', 'nigadataḥ': 'as (I am) telling/declaring

• while speaking', 'śṛṇu': 'listen (imperative)', 'dhṛtarāṣṭram': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra (accusative

• object of ‘regarding’)', 'prati': 'towards

• with reference to', 'nṛpam': 'king', 'devarṣe': 'O divine seer

• god-sage (vocative)', 'lokapūjita': 'worshipped/honoured by the world(s)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Devarṣi (the god-sage addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models ethical discourse: before speaking about a morally weighty figure (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), the speaker signals intention and requests attentive listening, emphasizing respectful, deliberate speech in matters of dharma and kingship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a revered divine sage and announces that he wishes to say something concerning King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, preparing the listener for a focused account or inquiry about the king’s situation in the Āśramavāsika context.