Mahabharata 11.7.9 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 7, Shloka 9
Saṃsāra-mārga-vistaraḥ
Vidura’s Expanded Account of the Path
अथापि तैरविमुच्येत व्याधिभि: पुरुषो नृप । आवृणोत्येव तं पश्चाज्जरा रूपविनाशिनी
athāpi tair avimucyeta vyādhibhiḥ puruṣo nṛpa | āvṛṇoty eva taṃ paścāj jarā rūpavināśinī ||
ข้าแต่มหาราช แม้บุรุษผู้หนึ่งจะรอดพ้นจากโรคเหล่านั้นได้ก็ตาม ครั้นต่อมา “ชรา” ผู้ทำลายรูปโฉมย่อมเข้าครอบงำเขาอย่างแน่นอน.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even if one avoids illness, old age inevitably arrives and erodes beauty and bodily strength; therefore one should not cling to the body or external appearances, but cultivate steadiness, discernment, and dharmic conduct.
In the Stree Parva’s aftermath of war and mourning, Vidura addresses the king with sobering counsel, pointing to the unavoidable forces of disease and especially old age to frame human life as fragile and transient.
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