अग्निर्निसृष्टो दत्तश्च गरो दाराश्च दूषिताः ।
हृतं क्षेत्रं धनं येषां तद्दत्तैरसुभिः कियत् ॥२४॥

agnir nisṛṣṭo dattaś ca
garo dÄrÄÅ› ca dÅ«á¹£itÄḥ
há¹›taá¹ ká¹£etraá¹ dhanaá¹ yeá¹£Äá¹
tad-dattair asubhiḥ kiyat

 agniḥ - fire; nisṛṣṭaḥ - set; dattaḥ - given; ca - and; garaḥ - poison; dÄrÄḥ - married wife; ca - and; dÅ«á¹£itÄḥ - insulted; há¹›tam - usurped; ká¹£etram - kingdom; dhanam - wealth; yeá¹£Äm - of those; tat - their; dattaiḥ - given by; asubhiḥ - subsisting; kiyat - is unnecessary.


Text

There is no need to live a degraded life and subsist on the charity of those whom you tried to kill by arson and poisoning. You also insulted their married wife and usurped their kingdom and wealth.

Purport

The system of varṇÄÅ›rama religion sets aside a part of one’s life completely for the purpose of self-realization and attainment of salvation in the human form of life. That is a routine division of life, but persons like Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra, even at their weary ripened age, want to stay home, even in a degraded condition of accepting charity from enemies. Vidura wanted to point this out and impressed upon him that it was better to die like his sons than accept such humiliating charity. Five thousand years ago there was one Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra, but at the present moment there are Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭras in every home. Politicians especially do not retire from political activities unless they are dragged by the cruel hand of death or killed by some opposing element. To stick to family life to the end of one’s human life is the grossest type of degradation and there is an absolute need for the Viduras to educate such Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭras, even at the present moment.