Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 1 Verse 15

Canto 3: The Status Quo | Chapter 1: Questions by Vidura

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.1.15

ka enam atropajuhāva jihmaḿ

dāsyāḥ sutaḿ yad-balinaiva puṣṭaḥ

tasmin pratīpaḥ parakṛtya āste

nirvāsyatām āśu purāc chvasānaḥ

SYNONYMS

kaḥ — who; enam — this; atra — here; upajuhāva — called for; jihmam — crooked; dāsyāḥ — of a kept mistress; sutam — son; yat — whose; balinā — by whose subsistence; eva — certainly; puṣṭaḥ — grown up; tasmin — unto him; pratīpaḥ — enmity; parakṛtya — enemy's interest; āste — situated; nirvāsyatām — get him out; āśu — immediately; purāt — from the palace; śvasānaḥ — let him breathe only.

TRANSLATION

Who asked him to come here, this son of a kept mistress? He is so crooked that he spies in the interest of the enemy against those on whose support he has grown up. Toss him out of the palace immediately and leave him with only his breath.

PURPORT

When getting married, the kṣatriya kings would take on several other youthful girls along with the married princess. These girl attendants of the king were known as dāsīs, or attendant mistresses. By intimate association with the king, the dāsīs would get sons. Such sons were called dāsī-putras. They had no claim to a royal position, but they would get maintenance and other facilities just like princes. Vidura was the son of such a dāsī, and he was thus not counted amongst the kṣatriyas. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra was very affectionate toward his younger dāsī-putra brother, Vidura, and Vidura was a great friend and philosophical advisor to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Duryodhana knew very well that Vidura was a great soul and well-wisher, but unfortunately he used strong words to hurt his innocent uncle. Duryodhana not only attacked Vidura's birth, but also called him an infidel because he seemed to support the cause of Yudhiṣṭhira, whom Duryodhana considered his enemy. He desired that Vidura he immediately put out of the palace and deprived of all his possessions. If possible, he would have liked him caned until he was left with nothing but his breath. He charged that Vidura was a spy of the Pāṇḍavas because he advised King Dhṛtarāṣṭra in their favor. Such is the situation of palace life and the intricacies of diplomacy that even a faultless person like Vidura could be charged with something abominable and punished. Vidura was struck with wonder at such unexpected behavior from his nephew Duryodhana, and before anything actually happened, he decided to leave the palace for good.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness