Shloka 22
Vyāsa’s Inquiry into Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Tapas and the Identification of Vidura with Dharma
“महाबाहो! आजसे पितरोंके पिण्डका, सुयशका और इस कुलका भार भी तुम्हारे ही ऊपर है। पुत्र! आज या कल अवश्य चले जाओ; विलम्ब न करना ।।
mahābāho! ājasa pitṝṇāṁ piṇḍakā, suyāśasā ca, asya kulasya bhāro 'pi tavaiva upari. putra! āja vā śvaḥ avasyaṁ calāhi; vilambaṁ mā kṛthāḥ. nīti-rājñītiḥ bahuśaḥ śrutā te, bharatarṣabha; sandeṣṭavyaṁ na paśyāmi, kṛtaṁ me bhavatā vibho.
“大臂者啊！自今日起，祭祖之供、善名之守、此族之责，尽归汝一身。吾子，今日或明日，必当启程；勿得迟延。汝屡闻治国与王道之训，婆罗多族之雄牛啊；我不见尚有可嘱之事。主啊，汝已为我尽其所当尽。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharma as inherited responsibility: maintaining ancestral rites (piṇḍa/śrāddha), protecting one’s reputation, and carrying the burden of the lineage. It also implies that true instruction culminates in timely action—once counsel is received, delay becomes a moral failure.
A senior voice urges a younger hero/prince to depart promptly, declaring that from now on the obligations of the family—ritual, honor, and governance—rest on him. The speaker notes that the addressee has already heard statecraft repeatedly and has fulfilled what was needed, so no further instruction remains.