Shloka 8
Adhyāya 6: Vidura’s Saṃsāra-Upamā
The Allegory of the Well, Time, and Desire
यस्तत्र वसते5धस्तान्महाहि: काल एव सः | अन्तक: सर्वभूतानां देहिनां सर्वहार्यसौ,नरेश्वर! उस वनमें जो कुआँ कहा गया है, वह देहधारियोंका शरीर है। उसमें नीचे जो विशाल नाग रहता है, वह काल ही है। वही सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंका अन्त करनेवाला और देहधारियोंका सर्वस्व हर लेनेवाला है
yastatra vasate 'dhastān mahāhiḥ kāla eva saḥ | antakaḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ dehināṁ sarvahāry asau, nareśvara |
Vidura disse: “A grande serpente que habita lá, nas profundezas, não é outra senão o próprio Tempo (a Morte). Ó rei dos homens, é o Tempo que se torna o fim de todos os seres e que despoja os encarnados de tudo o que possuem.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time (kāla) is portrayed as the inevitable ‘great serpent’ that ends all lives and takes away all possessions; the ethical thrust is to cultivate detachment, sobriety, and dharmic living in awareness of mortality.
Vidura continues an allegorical explanation, identifying the ‘great serpent in the depths’ as Time/Death, addressing the king and emphasizing that all embodied beings are ultimately overcome by this force.