Shloka 23
धृतराष्ट्रस्य वंशोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Dynastic Counsel on Legitimate Rule
प्रजापति: प्रजा: सृष्टवा यथा संहरते तथा
prajāpatiḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā yathā saṁharate tathā
Vidura berkata: “Sebagaimana Prajāpati, Tuhan segala makhluk, setelah menciptakan para makhluk lalu menarik mereka kembali, demikianlah dunia bergerak menurut hukum penciptaan dan peleraian.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura points to the cosmic pattern of creation and dissolution: all beings arise and are withdrawn in due course. Ethically, this supports sobriety, detachment from pride and possession, and governance aligned with dharma rather than ego, remembering that power and life are transient.
In Udyoga Parva, Vidura delivers counsel meant to restrain destructive choices and to ground political action in dharma. By invoking Prajāpati’s act of creating and withdrawing beings, he frames human conflict and ambition within a larger moral-cosmic order, urging perspective and self-control.