Mahabharata 11.4.4 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 4, Shloka 4
Saṃsāra-gahana-jñāna: Vidura’s Account of Embodiment, Bondage, and Dharmic Release (संसारगहन-ज्ञानम्)
अमेध्यमध्ये वसति मांसशोणितलेपने । ततस्तु वायुवेगेन ऊर्ध्वपादो हध:शिरा:,इति श्रीमहाभारते स्त्रीपर्वणि जलप्रदानिकपर्वणि धृतराष्ट्रविशोककरणे चतुर्थोउध्याय:
amedhyamadhye vasati māṁsaśoṇitalepane | tatastu vāyuvegena ūrdhvapādo 'dhaḥśirāḥ ||
जीव अपवित्रतेच्या मध्ये, मांस व रक्ताने लिप्त होऊन राहतो. मग वायूच्या वेगाने तो बाहेर फेकला जातो—पाय वर आणि डोके खाली।
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches dispassion toward the body by highlighting its impurity and the inevitability of death; recognizing this helps restrain grief and supports a dharmic, steady mind amid loss.
In the Strīparvan context of consoling Dhṛtarāṣṭra after the war’s devastation, Vidura speaks starkly about the body and death to reduce attachment and to guide the king toward composure and insight.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.