Shloka 53
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
अनश्रिता दानपुण्यं वेदपुण्यमनाश्रिता: । रागद्वेषविनिर्मुक्ता विचरन्तीह मोक्षिण:,मोक्षकी इच्छा रखनेवाले मनुष्य दानके पुण्यका आश्रय नहीं लेते, वेदके पुण्यका भी आश्रय नहीं लेते; किंतु निष्कामभावसे राग-द्वेषसे रहित हो इस लोकमें विचरते रहते हैं
anaśritā dānapuṇyaṃ vedapuṇyam anāśritāḥ | rāgadveṣavinirmuktā vicarantīha mokṣiṇaḥ ||
Vidura diz: Os que verdadeiramente buscam a libertação não se apoiam no mérito da caridade, nem dependem do mérito obtido por ritos védicos. Livres de apego e aversão, caminham neste mundo com uma mente sem desejo, sem amarras—vivendo sem se prender à recompensa como fundamento de sua conduta.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation-oriented living is marked by inner freedom: one does not act for the sake of accumulating merit (puṇya) through charity or ritual, but lives without attachment and aversion, letting actions be unclaimed by desire for reward.
In Vidura’s counsel during the Udyoga Parva, he articulates a higher ethical-spiritual standpoint: amid political tension and impending conflict, he points to the ideal of the mokṣa-seeker—one who remains inwardly detached and unentangled in reward-seeking religiosity.