Shloka 19

शोक-शमन उपदेशः

Instruction on the Pacification of Grief

Devanagari script

एवं संसारगहने उन्‍्मज्जननिमज्जने । कर्मभोगेन बध्यन्ते क्लिश्यन्ते चाल्पबुद्धय:

Transliteration

evaṁ saṁsāra-gahane unmajjana-nimajjane | karma-bhogena badhyante kliśyante cālpa-buddhayaḥ ||

Translation

Vì thế, trong khu rừng rậm của luân hồi—trồi lên rồi chìm xuống—kẻ ít trí bị trói buộc bởi quả báo của chính nghiệp mình và luôn bị khổ não dày vò.

Word by Word

एवम्thus, in this manner

संसारगहनेin the deep/thicket of worldly existence

उन्मज्जननिमज्जनेin rising up and sinking down (alternation)

कर्मभोगेनby/through the experience (enjoyment/suffering) of karma

बध्यन्तेare bound

क्लिश्यन्तेsuffer, are afflicted

चand

अल्पबुद्धयःthe small-minded / of little understanding

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vidura

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura teaches that ignorance and poor discernment keep beings trapped in saṁsāra: they become bound by the lived consequences of their actions (karma-bhoga) and therefore continue to suffer. The implied remedy is wisdom—seeing clearly, choosing dharmic action, and loosening attachment to outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Strī Parva’s grief-filled aftermath of the war, Vidura speaks in a reflective, instructive mode. He frames human life as a turbulent cycle of rising and sinking, emphasizing how ordinary people, lacking insight, remain entangled in the results of their deeds and are pained by that bondage.