Mahabharata 11.6.11 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 6, Shloka 11
Adhyāya 6: Vidura’s Saṃsāra-Upamā
The Allegory of the Well, Time, and Desire
मुखानि ऋतवो मासा: पादा द्वादश कीर्तिता: । ये तु वृक्ष निकृन््तन्ति मूषिका: सततोत्थिता:
mukhāni ṛtavo māsāḥ pādā dvādaśa kīrtitāḥ | ye tu vṛkṣa nikṛntanti mūṣikāḥ satatotthitāḥ ||
मुखानि ऋतवो मासाः पादाः द्वादश कीर्तिताः। ये तु वृक्षं निकृन्तन्ति मूषिकाः सततोत्थिताः॥
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Time is orderly (seasons and months) yet relentlessly consuming (the ever-active ‘mice’). Therefore one should act with awareness and responsibility, not postponing dharmic duties or assuming life is secure.
Vidura speaks in a reflective, admonitory tone, employing a metaphor of a tree whose structure is marked by seasons and months, while unseen, ceaseless forces (mice) continually gnaw it down—an image meant to awaken urgency and ethical clarity amid grief and aftermath.
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