Shloka 23

Bhāgīrathī-tīra-śauca, Kurukṣetra-gamana, and Śatayūpa-āśrama-dīkṣā (गङ्गातीरशौच–कुरुक्षेत्रगमन–शतयूपाश्रमदीक्षा)

Devanagari script

अभिजज्ञे महाबुद्धि महाबुद्धिर्युधिछ्िर:

Transliteration

abhijajñe mahābuddhiṁ mahābuddhir yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | sa bahu-durbalo jātaḥ śarīra-dhātra-mātraḥ | etāvatā tasya jīvitam iti sūcitaṁ babhūva | parama-buddhimān rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ tān mahābuddhimān viduraṁ pratyabhijānāt ||

Translation

毗耶娑波耶那说道：至慧的国王由提湿提罗认出了心量宏大的毗度罗。毗度罗已虚弱至极——其身几乎只剩骨架，唯凭这一点才知生命尚未断绝。然而由提湿提罗以明辨与对德行的敬仰为引，仍辨识出他，并洞悉其境况之沉重。

Word by Word

• अभिजज्ञे: recognized
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-√ज्ञा
• Form: LiT (Perfect), Parasmaipada, 3, Singular

• महाबुद्धिः: the very intelligent (one)
• महाबुद्धिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबुद्धि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाबुद्धिः: the very intelligent (one)
• महाबुद्धिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबुद्धि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhishthira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Vidura

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True wisdom includes the ability to recognize dharmic greatness even when external signs—strength, status, or appearance—have faded. The passage highlights reverence for virtue and the ethical sensitivity to human frailty and mortality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira encounters Vidura in a severely weakened state. Though Vidura is barely alive and physically reduced to a mere frame, Yudhiṣṭhira recognizes him, marking a poignant moment in the forest-ascetic phase of the epic.