Shloka 19
Sanatsujāta-Āhvāna (Summoning Sanatsujāta) — Vidura’s Invocation and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Doubt
धृतराष्ट्र रवाच को5सौ नियुद्धक्ते तमजं पुराणं स चेदिदं सर्वमनुक्रमेण । कि वास्य कार्यमथवा सुखं च तन्मे विद्वन् ब्रूहि सर्व यथावत्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca: ko 'sau niyuddhakte tam ajaṁ purāṇaṁ sa ced idaṁ sarvam anukrameṇa? kiṁ vāsya kāryam athavā sukhaṁ ca tan me vidvan brūhi sarvaṁ yathāvat.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra disse: “Ó sábio, se esse Ser não nascido e antiquíssimo se manifesta, em devida ordem, como este universo inteiro, então quem poderia comandá-Lo ou governá-Lo? E que propósito é servido por Seu aparecer nesta forma—que benefício ou ‘felicidade’ Lhe advém disso? Dize-me tudo isso com correção e por completo.”
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical problem: if the Supreme is unborn, ancient, and the source of the universe, then He is not subject to any higher ruler; and creation cannot be for His personal gain. It sets up Sanatsujāta’s teaching that the Absolute is sovereign and complete, and that manifestation is not driven by need or lack.
In the Sanatsujātīya section of the Udyoga Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions the sage Sanatsujāta about the nature of the Supreme Being. Here he asks who could possibly govern such a primordial, unborn reality, and why that reality would manifest as the ordered universe—what ‘purpose’ or ‘benefit’ could it have.