Shloka 15
अध्याय ३९: विदुरेण धृतराष्ट्राय नीत्युपदेशः
Timely Counsel, Association, and Kin-Duty
मृतं पुत्र दुःखपुष्टं मनुष्या उत्क्षिप्य राजन् स्वगृहान्निर्हरन्ति । त॑ मुक्तकेशा: करुणं रुदन्ति चितामध्ये काष्ठमिव क्षिपन्ति,राजन! जिसको बड़े कष्टसे पाला-पोसा था, वही पुत्र जब मर जाता है, तब मनुष्य उसे उठाकर तुरंत अपने घरसे बाहर कर देते हैं। पहले तो उसके लिये बाल छितराये करुणाभरे स्वरमें विलाप करते हैं, फिर साधारण काष्ठकी भाँति उसे जलती चितामें झोंक देते हैं
mṛtaṃ putra duḥkhapuṣṭaṃ manuṣyā utkṣipya rājan svagṛhānnirharanti | taṃ muktakeśāḥ karuṇaṃ rudanti citāmadhye kāṣṭham iva kṣipanti ||
Vidura diz: “Ó Rei, quando um filho—criado com grande esforço—morre, as pessoas erguem o corpo e depressa o levam para fora de sua própria casa. Com os cabelos soltos, primeiro choram com lamento pungente e, depois, lançam-no ao meio da pira funerária como se fosse simples lenha.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the strongest worldly attachment—such as to a dearly raised son—meets the reality of impermanence: after brief lamentation, the body is swiftly removed and consigned to the pyre. Vidura uses this to cultivate dispassion and clear judgment, reminding the king not to be ruled by attachment, grief, or delusion when deciding what is right (dharma).
Vidura is counseling the king by pointing to a common funeral scene: people carry a dead son out of the house, mourn with loosened hair, and then place him on the pyre like ordinary wood. The vivid image supports Vidura’s broader moral instruction in Udyoga Parva, urging sober reflection amid the crisis leading toward war.