Shloka 3

Āśramamaṇḍala-darśana and Ṛṣi-samāgama

Observation of the Hermitage Precinct and the Assembly of Sages

Devanagari script

विदुरश्न महाप्राज्ञो ययौ सिद्धि तपोबलात्‌ । धृतराष्ट्र: समासाद्य व्यासं चैव तपस्विनम्‌

Transliteration

viduraś ca mahāprājño yayau siddhiṁ tapobalāt | dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ samāsādya vyāsaṁ caiva tapasvinam ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说道：大智的贤者毗度罗，凭自身苦行之力而证得成就。至于持国王（Dhṛtarāṣṭra），则因亲近并归依苦行者毗耶娑（Vyāsa），而获得同样的成就。

Word by Word

• {'viduraḥ': 'Vidura

• the wise counselor of the Kuru court', 'mahāprājñaḥ': 'greatly wise

• possessing profound discernment', 'yayau': 'went

• reached (a final state)', 'siddhim': 'spiritual accomplishment

• liberation-like attainment', 'tapo-balāt': 'by the strength/power of austerity (tapas)', 'dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra

• blind Kuru king, father of the Kauravas', 'samāsādya': 'having approached

• having taken recourse to', 'vyāsam': 'Vyāsa

• Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, seer and teacher', 'ca eva': 'and indeed

• also', 'tapasvinam': 'the ascetic

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vidura
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Spiritual fulfillment is presented as attainable through two aligned means: (1) one’s own disciplined austerity (tapas) and (2) humble recourse to a realized guide (Vyāsa). The verse implicitly contrasts worldly kingship with inner sovereignty—true success is ethical and spiritual completion, not political power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports the outcomes for two elders of the Kuru story: Vidura attains siddhi through his own tapas, while Dhṛtarāṣṭra attains it by approaching the ascetic Vyāsa. This situates the forest-retirement phase as a culmination where key figures move toward final spiritual resolution.