Shloka 19

अध्याय ३९: विदुरेण धृतराष्ट्राय नीत्युपदेशः

Timely Counsel, Association, and Kin-Duty

Devanagari script

अस्माल्लोकादूर्ध्वममुष्य चाधो महत्‌ तमस्तिष्ठति हान्धकारम्‌ | तद्‌ वै महामोहनमिन्द्रियाणां बुध्यस्व मा त्वां प्रलभेत राजन्‌,इस लोक और परलोकसे ऊपर और नीचेतक सर्वत्र अज्ञानरूप महान्‌ अन्धकार फैला हुआ है। वह इन्द्रियोंको महान्‌ मोहमें डालनेवाला है। राजन! आप इसको जान लीजिये, जिससे यह आपका स्पर्श न कर सके

Transliteration

asmāllokād ūrdhvam amuṣya cādho mahat tamas tiṣṭhati hāndhakāram | tad vai mahāmohanam indriyāṇāṁ budhyasva mā tvāṁ pralabheta rājan ||

Translation

Vidura berkata: Di luar dunia ini dan di luar dunia yang akan datang—di atas dan di bawah—terbentang kegelapan besar, yakni kejahilan laksana malam yang membutakan. Itulah penyesat agung bagi pancaindera. Wahai Raja, ketahuilah dengan jelas agar ia tidak memperdaya dan menguasaimu.

Word by Word

• {'asmāt lokāt': 'from this world', 'ūrdhvam': 'above, higher', 'amuṣya (loka)': 'of that (other) world

• the next world', 'adhaḥ': 'below, lower', 'mahat': 'great, vast', 'tamas': 'darkness

• ignorance', 'tiṣṭhati': 'stands, prevails, pervades', 'andhakāram': 'gloom, blinding darkness', 'tad vai': 'that indeed', 'mahāmohanam': 'great delusion, powerful bewilderment', 'indriyāṇām': 'of the senses', 'budhyasva': 'understand, awaken to it, be aware', 'mā': 'lest

• do not let', 'tvām': 'you', 'pralabheta': 'should deceive, beguile, trick', 'rājan': 'O King'}

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura warns that ignorance (tamas) pervades all realms and powerfully deludes the senses; a ruler must recognize this inner darkness to avoid being deceived into unethical choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vidura’s counsel to the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) during Udyoga Parva, he cautions him against sensory delusion and moral blindness at a critical moment when decisions about policy and war are impending.