Sanatan Info

Beta AI

Vidura

विदुर

Also known as क्षत्ता

Concealed the news of the Yadu dynasty's destruction out of compassion

'sarvam tat samavarnayat... vina yadu-kula-kshayam' (SB 1.13.12); 'sakaruno duhkhitan drashtum akshamah' (SB 1.13.13), unable to see them grieved.

A devotee who is himself a place of pilgrimage

'bhavad-vidha bhagavatas tirtha-bhutah svayam vibho tirthi-kurvanti tirthani svantah-sthena gada-bhrita' (SB 1.13.10) — because of the mace-bearer within.

Of stainless soul (amalātman)

Shuka calls Vidura 'amalAtman': 'na hy alpArthodayas tasya vidurasyAmalAtmanaH' (SB 3.1.4).

Addressed as Kṣattā throughout the account

The episode consistently names him Kshatta: 'kShattrA vanaM praviShTena' (SB 3.1.1); 'kShattA sakarNAnujasaubalena' (3.1.14).

Quieting the grief for his friends by knowledge

Hearing from Uddhava of the unbearable slaying of his friends, Kshatta the wise one quieted by knowledge the grief that had arisen: 'j~nAnena Ashamayad kShattA shokam utpatitaM budhaH' (SB 3.4.23).

Sixteen questions to Maitreya, and the desire for the tale of Krishna

Vidura admits that he has heard the observances of the Lord, high and low, again and again from the mouth of Vyasa, yet was not satisfied apart from the flood of nectar that is the tale of Krishna: 'atR^ipnum kShulla-sukha-AvahAnAM teShAm R^ite kR^iShNa-kathAmR^itaughAt' (SB 3.5.10). He says that even as he listens his mind is not sated (SB 3.5.7).

His question on how maya touches the Lord

Vidura asks how the gunas and actions could attach even as play to the Lord who is consciousness alone, unchanging and beyond the gunas: 'brahman kathaM bhagavataH chin-mAtrasya avikAriNaH / lIlayA cha api yujyeran nirguNasya guNAH kriyAH' (SB 3.7.2). He raises the child's exertion as an illustration himself and then states its limit (SB 3.7.3), and finally calls the whole matter a knot of ignorance and asks for its removal (SB 3.7.7).

His request to Maitreya for twenty-four topics

In SB 3.7.21-41 Vidura asks Maitreya for a long list of topics: the arising of the Virat from the mahat and the rest; the prajapatis, the creations and secondary creations; the Manus and the manvantaras; the lines and their accounts; the worlds; the four kinds of birth; the incarnations of the gunas; the divisions of varna and ashrama; the rishis and the Veda; sacrifice, yoga and Sankhya; the heretical paths; the destinations of the jiva; the four aims of life; livelihood and the science of the rod; the ancestral rite; the pitrs; the planets, lunar mansions and stars; the divisions of time; giving, austerity, works offered and works built; the dharma of one abroad and of one in danger; the withdrawal of the principles; and knowledge, devotion and detachment arising of themselves. He grounds the request in the relation of teacher and disciple (SB 3.7.36).

His questions on Brahma's creation and on the mark of time

At SB 3.10.1-2 Vidura asks in how many ways Brahma, the grandsire of the worlds, created the beings when the Lord had withdrawn — those of the body and those of the mind — and asks that all their doubts be cut through. At SB 3.10.10, referring to Hari of wondrous deeds and many forms, he asks for the mark called time.

Vidura — incarnation of — Yama

Vidura is an incarnation of Yama: 'yavad dadhara shudratvam shapad varsha-shatam yamah' (SB 1.13.15) — cursed by Mandavya, Yama bore shudra-hood for a hundred years, during which Aryama wielded the rod. Direction: incarnation -> source. Evidence: STRONG_CONTEXT.