Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 7
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
धर्मेणैवर्षयस्तीर्णा धर्मे लोका: प्रतिष्ठिता: । धर्मेण देवा ववृधुर्धर्मे चार्थ: समाहित:
dharmeṇaiva ṛṣayas tīrṇā dharme lokāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ | dharmeṇa devā vavṛdhur dharme cārthaḥ samāhitaḥ ||
毗度罗宣示：唯凭法（dharma），诸仙贤得以渡过世有之海。万界皆立于法；诸天亦因法而昌盛；而在法之中，利（artha）——物质安泰与有序繁荣——也得其所、安其位。
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is presented as the universal foundation: it enables spiritual liberation (the seers crossing saṃsāra), sustains social and cosmic order (the worlds established), empowers divine flourishing (the gods prosper), and rightly governs material prosperity (artha is stable only when grounded in dharma).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vidura speaks as a moral counselor, emphasizing to the listener that righteousness is not merely personal virtue but the very support of cosmic stability and political-economic well-being.