agnir nisṛṣá¹o dattaÅ› ca
garo dÄrÄÅ› ca dÅ«á¹£itÄḥ
há¹›taá¹ ká¹£etraá¹ dhanaá¹ yeá¹£Äá¹
tad-dattair asubhiḥ kiyat
agniḥ - fire; nisṛṣá¹aḥ - 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.
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›tarÄá¹£á¹ra, 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›tarÄá¹£á¹ra, but at the present moment there are Dhá¹›tarÄá¹£á¹ras 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›tarÄá¹£á¹ras, even at the present moment.