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Vidura | |||
*son of [[:Category:Vyasadeva|Vyāsadeva]] | |||
*brother of [[:Category:Dhrtarastra|Dhṛtarāṣtra]], [[:Category:Pandu|Pāṇḍu]], [[:Category:Rohini|Rohiṇī]] and [[:Category:Sukadeva Gosvami|Śukadeva Gosvāmī]] | |||
[[Category:Kuru Dynasty]] | |||
[[Category:Names of Devotees of God]] | |||
[[Category:Names of Spiritual Masters]] | |||
[[Category:Yamaraja]] | |||
[[Category:Principal Personalities from Mahabharata]] | |||
[[Category:Top 15 Speakers of Srimad Bhagavatam]] | |||
[[Category:Personalities from Srimad Bhagavatam]] | [[Category:Personalities from Srimad Bhagavatam]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:All Categories - Vaniquotes]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:04, 19 July 2020
Vidura
- son of Vyāsadeva
- brother of Dhṛtarāṣtra, Pāṇḍu, Rohiṇī and Śukadeva Gosvāmī
Subcategories Pages in category
This category has the following 13 subcategories, out of 13 total.
E
K
S
V
Pages in category "Vidura"
The following 589 pages are in this category, out of 589 total.
A
- A devotee, who is called narayana-para, is never afraid of anything because he is always aware of the fact that the Lord protects him in all circumstances. With this conviction, Vidura traveled alone, & he was not seen or recognized by any friend or foe
- A person, when received at home, should be treated as a relative, so what to speak of a family member like Vidura, who was a well-wisher for all the members of the family. Thus Yudhisthira Maharaja began to speak in the presence of all the other members
- A prominent figure in the history of the Mahabharata, Vidura was conceived by Vyasadeva in the womb of the maidservant of Ambika, mother of Maharaja Pandu. He is the incarnation of Yamaraja. Being cursed by Manduka Muni, he was to become a sudra
- A pure devotee like Vidura always feels the presence of the Lord everywhere. He sees everything in the potency of the Lord and the Lord in everything
- A sadhu like Vidura is meant to awaken such blind persons and help them go back to Godhead, where life is eternal. Once going there, no one wants to come back to this material world of miseries
- According to his status of work, a living entity is placed in a particular father's semen, and because Vidura was not an ordinary living entity, he was given the chance to be born from the semen of Vyasa
- According to social custom, Vidura was to be respected by Uddhava on the level of his father. Uddhava was a great scholar in logic, and he was known to be a son or disciple of Brhaspati, the greatly learned priest and spiritual master of the demigods
- After discussing with Vidura the transcendental name, fame, qualities, etc., on the bank of the Yamuna, Uddhava was overwhelmed with great affliction. He passed the night as if it were a moment, and thereafter he went away
- After finishing his (Vidura's) rest, he was offered a comfortable place to sit, and then the King began to talk about all happenings, both family and otherwise. That is the proper way to receive a beloved friend, or even an enemy
- After hearing from the great sage Maitreya about the Lord's incarnation as Varaha, Vidura, who had taken a vow, begged him with folded hands to please narrate further transcendental activities of the Lord, since he (Vidura) did not yet feel satisfied
- After leaving his home, which was full of politics and diplomacy, Vidura wanted to purify himself by traveling to all the sacred places, which are so situated that anyone who goes there automatically becomes purified
- After passing a few days on the bank of the River Yamuna, Vidura, the self-realized soul, reached the bank of the Ganges, where the great sage Maitreya was situated
- After retiring from active life and accepting the vanaprastha (retired) order, one should travel everywhere to places of pilgrimage in order to purify himself. Vidura completely discharged this duty, and at last he reached Kusavarta, or Hardwar
- After seeing the very opulent capital city, Akrura met King Dhrtarastra. He also saw grandfather Bhisma sitting with him. After meeting them, he went to see Vidura and then Kunti, Akrura's cousin
- After Vidura ate sumptuously and took sufficient rest, he was comfortably seated. Then the King (Yudhisthira) began to speak to him, and all who were present there listened
- All (transcendental symptoms of ecstasy) were manifested by Uddhava in the presence of Vidura
- All of them (Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura and Arjuna) knew that Laksmana was not at all inclined to select him (Samba) as her husband and that she was not given the chance to select her own husband; instead she was forcibly taken away by this boy
- All of them (Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura and Arjuna), under the counsel of the elder members of the Kuru family, decided to arrest the boy (Samba) but not kill him
- All such plans for living conditions are made by the Supreme Lord, and Vidura requested Maitreya to describe this for the sake of further enlightenment
- All the members of the Kuru dynasty, such as Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura and Arjuna, thought it an insult to their family tradition that the boy, Samba, could possibly have kidnapped their daughter
- All these (the destruction of the Yadu dynasty and the passing away of God) hurled him (Vidura) into bereavement for the time being, but because he was highly advanced in transcendental knowledge, he was quite competent to pacify himself by enlightenment
- All these different activities of Vidura within the palace politics made him well-known as partial to the Pandavas
- Also let me inquire whether Maharaja Yudhisthira is now maintaining the kingdom according to religious principles and with respect for the path of religion
- Also please let us know the reason for Vidura's giving up the connection of his family members, and why he again came home. Please also let us know the activities of Vidura while he was in the places of pilgrimage
- Although as a devotee he (Maitreya) externally expressed surprise, as if he did not know how to reply to those questions, he immediately became perfectly settled and properly replied to Vidura
- Although Vidura did not inherit the property of his father (the brother of Bhismadeva), still he was given sufficient state property by Dhrtarastra, the elder brother of Vidura
- Although Vidura was older than Uddhava, he was anxious to become a servant of Uddhava in the transcendental relationship. This formula of transcendental disciplic succession is taught by Lord Caitanya also
- An offense at the feet of a Vaisnava is more dangerous than an offense at the lotus feet of the Lord. Vidura was certainly very liberal to bestow mercy upon his brother Dhrtarastra, whose past life was very materialistic
- As an eternal servitor of the Lord, he (Vidura) displayed his devotional activities very ardently and lived a life of a pious man, so much so that a materialistic man like Dhrtarastra also got salvation by his instruction
- As everyone is still eager to learn the subject of Bhagavad-gita in order to become perfectly enlightened, Vidura was similarly eager to learn from the great sage Maitreya about the talks between Lord Siva and the Pracetas
- As evidenced in the topics between Vidura and Maitreya, the activities of the Supreme and the devotees are so fascinating that neither the devotee who is describing them nor the devotee who is hearing is at all fatigued by the inquiries and answers
- As far as I am concerned, I am always your devotee as well as a devotee of the Lord, who is known as Adhoksaja. Please therefore narrate all the stories of King Prthu, who, in the form of the son of King Vena, milked the cow-shaped earth
- As long as Vidura played the part of a sudra, being cursed by Manduka Muni, Aryama officiated at the post of Yamaraja to punish those who committed sinful acts
- At present there are hundreds and thousands of flags flapping in the United Nations, but during the time of Vidura there was, by the grace of Ajita, Lord Krsna, only one flag
- At that time (SB 3.1.17), Lord Krsna was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin
- At the end he (Vidura) was again received by the denizens of Pitrloka & posted in his original position. The demigods are also associates of the Lord without personal touch whereas the direct associates of the Lord are in constant personal touch with Him
- At the place of pilgrimage at Prabhasa, he came to know that all his relatives had died due to violent passion, just as an entire forest burns due to fire produced by the friction of bamboos. After this he proceeded west, where the River Sarasvati flows
B
- Because the inquiries (from Vidura to Maitreya) concerned the Lord, they were perfectly befitting a devotee. A devotee has no taste for hearing anything mundane. There are many topics of mundane warfare, but a devotee is not inclined to hear them
- Because the land (of Vrndavana) is identical with the Lord (Krsna), devotees like Uddhava and Vidura visited these places five thousand years ago in order to have direct contact with the Lord, visible or not visible
- Because the remark (Duryodhana's calling him a son of a sudrani) was an actual fact, it was unpalatable talk to Vidura, and it was accepted as a direct insult
- Because the remark (Vidura's mother being a sudrani) was an actual fact, it was unpalatable talk to Vidura, and it was accepted as a direct insult. He therefore decided to quit his paternal house and prepare for the renounced order of life
- Because there were insufficient topics directly concerning Krsna in the Puranas, Mahabharata, etc., he (Vidura) was not satisfied and wanted to know more about Krsna
- Because they (Vidura and Maitreya) were not attached to impersonal Brahman or to the localized Paramatma but were directly attached to Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead, they were worthy to render service to the Lord and His pure devotees
- Before ordering Vidura informed Dhrtarastra that there was no remedial measure by anyone or from any source in this material world
- Bhima did not take steps against the sons of Dhrtarastra for a long time. Vidura's inquiry was whether he had yet released his anger, which was like a suffering cobra. When a cobra releases its venom after long-cherished anger, its victim cannot survive
- Birth is not mentioned in this verse (SB 3.7.29) because birth is immaterial. Vidura is famous in history as born of a sudrani mother, he is more than a brahmana by qualification because he is seen here to be the disciple of a great sage, Maitreya Muni
- Both Akrura and Vidura became very sympathetic to the mother of the Pandavas (Kunti) and began to solace her by glorifying her five sons, namely Yudhisthira, Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva
- Both of them (Maharaja Pariksit and Sukadeva Gosvami) knew that the topics discussed by Vidura and Rsi Maitreya were elevated, and thus Maharaja Pariksit was very interested in learning from the bona fide spiritual master
- Both the Kauravas and the Yadavas were relatives of Vidura, and Vidura heard of their extinction due to fratricidal war
- Both Uddhava and Vidura were in great affliction because of Lord Krsna's departure, and the more they discussed the transcendental name, fame and qualities of the Lord, the more the picture of the Lord became visible to them everywhere
- Both Vidura and Uddhava were such elevated devotees (who can see Krsna in their hearts), and therefore they both came to the bank of the Yamuna and met each other
- But, my dear sir, I am obliged to you because now I can understand that this material manifestation is without substance, although it appears real. I am confident that by serving your feet it will be possible for me to give up the false idea
- By his (Vidura's) pious activities in the devotional service of the Lord he was able to always remember the lotus feet of the Lord, and thus he became washed of all contamination of a sudra-born life
- By his piety, Vidura achieved the advantages of the pious Kauravas. After leaving Hastinapura, he took shelter of many places of pilgrimages, which are the Lord's lotus feet
- By the grace of his younger brother Vidura, Dhrtarastra was enlightened and could see his grossly illusory engagements, and by such enlightenment he was able to leave home for spiritual realization
- By the grace of Lord Siva, the Pracetas actually attained perfection and returned home, back to Godhead, after enjoying material facilities to the highest extent. Maitreya will now narrate that to Vidura - SB 4.30
- By the order of his mother, Satyavati, who was later married to Maharaja Santanu & by the request of Bhismadeva, the eldest son of Maharaja Santanu by his first wife, the Ganges, he begot three brilliant sons, whose names are Dhrtarastra, Pandu and Vidura
- By the order of Vyasadeva's mother, Satyavati, who was later married to Maharaja Santanu, and by the request of Bhismadeva, the eldest son of Maharaja Santanu by his first wife, the Ganges, he begot three brilliant sons; Dhrtarastra, Pandu and Vidura
D
- Dear Vidura, the material elements of her body have melted into water & are now a flowing river, which is the most sacred of all rivers. Anyone who bathes in that river also attains perfection, & therefore all persons who desire perfection go bathe there
- Despite his life of failure, he (Dhrtarastra) achieved the greatest of all success in self-realization by the forceful instructions of a pure devotee of the Lord (Vidura), who is the typical emblem of a sadhu
- Devotional service to the Lord is one, and the mind of the devotee is not diverted to the many branches of uncertainties. Vidura's purpose was to be situated in that service to the Lord, wherein one merges undivertedly
- Dhrtarastra and Vidura, followed by Gandhari, did not disclose their determination to Sanjaya, although he was constantly with Dhrtarastra as his personal assistant
- Dhrtarastra did not act in accordance with the good instructions given by Bhisma and Vidura; instead, he was being conducted by the ill instructions of such persons as Karna and Sakuni
- Dhrtarastra is addressed herein (SB 1.13.25) as a krpana because without any estimation of his material body he wants to live at any cost. Vidura is trying to open his eyes to see that he cannot live more than his term and that he must prepare for death
- Dhrtarastra was advised by Vidura at least to become a dhira in the beginning if it were impossible for him to become a sannyasi or a narottama
- Dhrtarastra's brother Vidura informed them of Dhrtarastra's policy - He wants you to go to that house so that you may burn to ashes
- Dressed in excellent robes, her charming breasts duly girded, she (Devahuti) was waited upon by a thousand Gandharva girls. O destroyer of the enemy (Vidura), his (Kardama Muni's) fondness for her grew, and he placed her on the aerial mansion
- Due to Pandu's death at an early age his minor children & widow were the object of special care by all the elderly members of the family especially Bhismadeva and Mahatma Vidura. He was more or less partial to the Pandavas due to their political position
- During the fratricidal war of Kuruksetra, Vidura repeatedly implored his elder brother to do justice to the sons of Pandu, but Duryodhana did not like such interference by his uncle, and thus he practically insulted Vidura
- During the mourning period all the members of the palace became overwhelmed with lamentation, but Vidura did not become so, because of his knowledge that the Pandavas were alive somewhere
- 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 Yudhisthira, whom Duryodhana considered his enemy. He desired that Vidura be immediately put out of the palace and deprived of all his possessions
- Duryodhana was exactly like blind, troubling eyes; he would be a source of great trouble to the family of Dhrtarastra, as foreseen by Vidura
- Duryodhana was so foolish that he dared to insult Vidura. This was due to his bad association with Sakuni, his maternal uncle, as well as with his friend Karna, who always encouraged Duryodhana in his nefarious acts
E
- Even a faultless person like Vidura could be charged with something abominable and punished
- Everyone in the royal palace, including the King (Yudhisthira) and his brothers and mother, was raptly attending the lectures. But it was known to Vidura that his instructions were especially meant for Dhrtarastra, who was too materialistic
F
- Foolish propaganda by atheists that temples were constructed only in later days is refuted here (in SB 3.1.23) because Vidura visited these temples at least five thousand years ago, & the temples of Visnu were in existence long before Vidura visited them
- Footsteps of Mahatma Vidura
- For a compassionate soul like Vidura, especially in his dealings with the beloved Pandavas, it was almost impossible to disclose an unpalatable piece of news like the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. Therefore he purposely refrained from it
- For the pure devotees like Vidura, the topics of both the mundaners and the mental speculators are useless in all respects. Thus Vidura requested Maitreya to talk of the essence only, the talks of Krsna, and nothing else
- Fully satisfied by the answers of the sage Maitreya, Vidura wanted to understand the remaining portions of the creative function of the Lord, and he took the clue from the previous topics
G
- Gradually Akrura learned from Kunti and Vidura that the sons of Dhrtarastra were intolerant and envious of the five Pandava brothers because of their extraordinary learning in military science and their greatly developed bodily strength
- Great learned sages like Maitreya Muni are always very enthusiastic about describing the transcendental activities of the Lord. Maitreya Muni, being thus invited by Vidura to speak, appeared to be smiling because he actually felt transcendental bliss
H
- He (Dhrtarastra) had a good younger brother, Vidura, and by his instruction he left to achieve salvation by closing all accounts in the material world
- He (Dhrtarastra) was advised to leave home before Kali-yuga approached because the atmosphere which was created by Vidura, his valuable instructions on the facts of life, would fade away due to the influence of the age which was fast approaching
- He (Duryodhana) desired that Vidura be 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 (Kasyapa Muni) could have refused her (Diti) with strong words expressing impossibility, but he was not as spiritually strong as Vidura
- He (Lord Siva) offered Arjuna the Pasupati weapon and blessed him. Here Vidura inquired about the great warrior's well-being
- He (Maitreya) appreciated the valuable inquiries of Vidura and thus thanked him with great honor
- He (Maitreya) considered the company of Vidura most desirable because such association can accelerate one's dormant propensities for devotional service
- He (Sanjaya) studied the situation in his own way because he did not know that the inner vision of Dhrtarastra has been awakened by Vidura and that he had left home in enthusiastic cheerfulness for a better life after departure from the dark well of home
- He (Vasudeva) had special attention for Kunti because she became a widow at an early age. While inquiring about Vasudeva's welfare, Vidura remembered all about him and the family relationship
- He (Vidura) accepted out of his own mercy what was offered to him by Maharaja Yudhisthira, but the purpose of living in the palace was to deliver his elder brother, Dhrtarastra, who was too much materially attached
- He (Vidura) also gave indications of fire and said that fire cannot extinguish the soul but can annihilate the material body. But one who protects the soul can live
- He (Vidura) always criticized his elder brother for his policy of encouragement to his sons, and at the same time he was always alert in giving special protection to the Pandavas
- He (Vidura) claimed the friendship of Maitreya Muni, not because he was Maitreya's son but because Maitreya was actually the friend of all who have lost their spiritual vision due to material influence
- He (Vidura) considered the acts of the external energy to be supreme, yet he also saw how God's internal energy helped him in that particular situation. A devotee is always in a renounced temperament because the worldly attractions can never satisfy him
- He (Vidura) did not ask Maharaja Yudhisthira in that way (get out of the false position of King) because he knew that a king like Maharaja Yudhisthira is aware of all the fearful situations of this flimsy world and would take care of himself
- He (vidura) enjoyed freedom of life without obligation to the many duties of the world
- He (Vidura) got the opportunity by the grace of Duryodhana, & instead of being sorry at the strong words of insult, he thanked him from within because it gave him the chance to live alone in a holy place and fully engage in the devotional service of God
- He (Vidura) hinted that the party of the Pandavas was being sent to Varanavata to be killed, and thus he (Vidura) warned Yudhisthira to be very careful in their new residential palace
- He (Vidura) lamented that Dhrtarastra could rebel against the sons of his dead brother Pandu and that he could drive him (Vidura) out of his own house on the dictation of his crooked sons. In spite of these actions
- He (Vidura) thought that there was no need to defend his brother with his bow because his brother was meant for ruination. Thus he left the palace before Duryodhana could act. Maya, the supreme energy of the Lord, acted here both internally & externally
- He (Vidura) traveled where the air, hill, orchard, river and lake are all pure and sinless and where the forms of the Unlimited decorate the temples. Thus he performed the pilgrim's progress
- He (Vidura) wanted to hear about Him (Krnsa) in His purusa incarnations, which He manifests with full potencies for the creation and maintenance of the cosmic world. The activities of the purusa incarnations are but an extension of the activities of God
- He (Vidura) wanted to hear more and more (about God) so that he could be more and more blessed by the transcendental message
- He (Vidura) was always partial to the Pandavas, just as a bird protects its eggs by its wing
- He (Vidura) was equally affectionate to both the camps of nephews in the sense that he always chastised Duryodhana for his intriguing policy against his cousins
- He (Vidura) was interested in the progeny of Svayambhuva Manu because in that dynasty, good devotee kings appeared who protected their subjects very carefully with spiritual knowledge
- He (Vidura) was practically insulted by Duryodhana's calling him a son of a sudrani, although it was not out of place to talk loosely in the case of one's grandmother
- He (Vidura) was thoroughly educated by him (Maitreya Rsi) in transcendental knowledge, he was quite competent to occupy the post of an acarya, or spiritual preceptor
- He (Vidura) was very careful about the protection of the Pandavas and their widow mother. He was, so to speak, partial to the Pandavas, preferring them to the sons of Dhrtarastra, although both of them were equally affectionate in his ordinary eyes
- He (Yamaraja) wanted to preach the glories of the Lord, and therefore by the will of the Lord he was cursed by Manduka Muni to come into the world in the incarnation of Vidura and work very hard as a great devotee
- He (Yudhisthira) also invited all the sons of Dhrtarastra, headed by Duryodhana, and also the great devotee Vidura
- He was constantly sanctified by taking his bath in holy places, although he was in the dress of a mendicant and had no hair dressing nor a bed on which to lie. Thus he was always unseen by his various relatives
- Here (SB 3.21.4) Vidura inquired about Kardama Muni and his wife, Devahuti, and about their children. It is described here that Devahuti was very much advanced in the performance of eightfold yoga
- Here is another practical example by the action of Vidura's association with Dhrtarastra
- His advice is well known, and instructions by Vidura are approved by expert ministers of state
- Hit in this manner by the demon, O Vidura, the Lord, who had appeared as the first boar, did not feel the least quaking in any part of His body, any more than an elephant would when struck with a wreath of flowers
I
- I (Maitreya Rsi) have spoken to you (Vidura) of the wonderful character of Svayambhuva Manu, the original king, whose reputation is worthy of description. Please hear as I speak of the flourishing of his daughter Devahuti
- I (Maitreya Rsi) shall therefore describe to you the pastimes by which the Personality of Godhead extends His transcendental potency for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the cosmic world as they occur one after another
- I also pity them because I see how their duration of life is spoiled by eternal time while they involve themselves in presentations of philosophical speculation, theoretical ultimate goals of life, and different modes of ritual
- I am not astonished at this, having traveled over the world without being seen by others
- I have repeatedly heard about these higher and lower statuses of human society from the mouth of Vyasadeva, & I am quite satiated with all these lesser subject matters and their happiness. They have not satisfied me with the nectar of topics about Krsna
- I know that you are now Vidura due to the cursing of Mandavya Muni and that formerly you were King Yamaraja, the great controller of living entities after their death. You were begotten by the son of Satyavati, Vyasadeva, in the kept wife of his brother
- If one hears and again narrates, with faith and devotion, this story of the Daksa yajna as it was conducted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, then certainly one is cleared of all contamination of material existence, O son of Kuru
- In essence, Maharaja Yudhisthira was saying - My dear Lord Vidura, you yourself are a holy place because you are an advanced devotee. People like you always carry Lord Visnu in their hearts
- In spite of being very strongly insulted by Duryodhana's words, Vidura could see that Duryodhana, under the influence of maya, the external energy, was making progress on the path toward his own ruination
- In spite of her great bereavement, Kunti decided to live, not to enjoy life in the absence of her husband, but only to give protection to the children. This incident is referred to by Vidura because he knew all the facts about his sister-in-law Kuntidevi
- In spite of Vidura's birth from the womb of a kept wife, because he had otherwise high parentage and great connection he inherited the highest talent of becoming a great devotee of the Lord
- In the Svayambhuva millennium He (God as a Boar) assumed the color white, and in the Caksusa millennium He assumed the color red. Vidura had already heard about one of them, and he proposed to hear about the other
- In this verse (SB 4.30.2) Vidura asks Maitreya, the disciple of Brhaspati, about the different achievements of the Pracetas
- In this verse (SB 4.30.45) Vidura is addressed as rajan, which means "O King." In this regard, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments that a dhira never becomes angry because he is always situated in devotional service
- Instructions for the renounced order of life were imparted to Dhrtarastra by Vidura, and Gandhari was by the side of her husband
- It is mentioned here (SB 3.1.2) that the Lord identified the house with His own Self. Thus the house of the Pandavas was as good as Vrndavana, and Vidura should not have given up that place of transcendental bliss
- It is said that giving good counsel to a foolish person causes the fool to become angry, just as feeding milk to a snake only increases its venomous poison. Saint Vidura was so honorable that his character was looked up to by all respectable persons
- It is said that Vidura understood transcendental knowledge from Maitreya, and it is stated that Maitreya is a friend of Vyasadeva's. This means that both Vidura and Maitreya know what Vyasadeva knows
- It is stated that Vidura heard from Maitreya Rsi, and that Maitreya Rsi was very pleased. Unless one satisfies his guru, one cannot receive proper knowledge. That is quite natural
- It was an intrigue of Dhrtarastra that the Pandavas might die all together with their mother. And by his (Vidura's) warning the Pandavas escaped through a tunnel underneath the earth so that their escape was also unknown to Dhrtarastra
- It was so observed by Vidura that Uddhava had all the transcendental bodily changes due to total ecstasy, and he was trying to wipe away tears of separation from his eyes
K
L
- Like Dhrtarastra, the materialistic person may take lessons from a sadhu like Vidura and thus be cleansed of the effects of modern life
- Like Vidura, an inquisitive conditioned soul must approach a bona fide spiritual master like Maitreya and by intelligent inquiries must try to know everything about 1) karma (fruitive activities), jnana (philosophical research for the Supreme Truth)
- Like Vidura, an inquisitive conditioned soul must approach a bona fide spiritual master like Maitreya and by intelligent inquiries must try to know everything about 2) yoga (the linking process of spiritual realization)
- Lord Krsna's father, Vasudeva, had sixteen wives, and one of them, named Pauravi or Rohini, the mother of Baladeva, was the sister of Vidura. Vasudeva, therefore, was the husband of Vidura's sister, and thus they were brothers-in-law
M
- Maharaja Yudhisthira could not find in the palace his two uncles, namely Dhrtarastra and Vidura, along with Gandhari, the daughter of King Subala. He was anxious to see them and therefore asked Sanjaya, the private secretary of Dhrtarastra
- Maharaja Yudhisthira has referred to the past history of Vidura before his going away from home for a prolonged pilgrim's journey
- Maharaja Yudhisthira received Vidura in the manner of reception offered to the demigods
- Maharaja Yudhisthira reminded him (Vidura) that he was equally kind and partial to his grown-up nephews, even after the Battle of Kuruksetra, a great family disaster
- Maharaja Yudhisthira said: My uncle (Vidura), do you remember how you always protected us, along with our mother, from all sorts of calamities? Your partiality, like the wings of a bird, saved us from poisoning and arson
- Maharaja Yudhisthira told Vidura that pure devotees like him are personified holy places because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always with them in their hearts
- Maharaja Yudhisthira was also always rapt in the thought of Lord Krsna and His associates at Dvaraka. Otherwise he could not have asked all about them from Vidura
- Maharaja Yudhisthira was inquisitive to learn whether Vidura maintained himself by the mercy of the free kitchen houses - chatras
- Maharaja Yudhisthira was on the same level of devotion as Vidura, although engaged in the state affairs of the kingdom of the world
- Maharaja Yudhisthira was saying - My dear Lord Vidura, people like you always carry Lord Visnu in their hearts. You can revitalize all holy places after they have been polluted by the pilgrimages of sinners
- Mahatma Vidura could follow this intrigue of Dhrtarastra and company, and therefore, even though he was a faithful servitor of his eldest brother, Dhrtarastra, he did not like his political ambition for the sake of his own sons
- Mahatma Vidura had already adopted the renounced order of life, and therefore he did not return to his paternal palace to enjoy some material comforts
- Mahatma Vidura is one such great devotee of the Lord, and we should all try to follow in his lotus footsteps for self-realization
- Mahatma Vidura knew all this, and therefore he addressed Dhrtarastra, saying: My dear King, please get out of here immediately. Do not delay. Just see how fear has overtaken you
- Mahatma Vidura, being treated just like a godly person by his kinsmen (like Yudhisthira Maharaja), remained there (in Yudhisthira's home) for a certain period just to rectify the mentality of his eldest brother (Dhrtarastra)
- Maitreya addressed Vidura as sinless because Vidura was a pure Vaisnava and never committed any offense to any demigod
- Maitreya continued: My dear sinless Vidura, Lord Visnu is actually the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. Yet because of His being the Supersoul of all living entities, He was satisfied simply with His share of the sacrificial offerings
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, as soon as Dhruva Maharaja reached Alakapuri, he immediately blew his conchshell, and the sound reverberated throughout the entire sky and in every direction. The wives of the Yaksas became very much frightened
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, descendant of Kuru, as a herd of bulls circumambulates a central pole on their right side, all the luminaries within the universal sky unceasingly circumambulate the abode of Dhruva Maharaja with great force and speed
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, I have as far as possible spoken the narrations about Prthu Maharaja, which enrich one's devotional attitude. Whoever takes advantage of these benefits also goes back home, back to Godhead, like Maharaja Prthu
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, in spite of the requests of all the members of the sacrificial assembly, Daksa, in great anger, cursed Lord Siva and then left the assembly and went back to his home
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, that black person was the personified anger of the SPG, & he was prepared to execute the orders of Lord Siva. Thus, considering himself capable of coping with any power offered against him, he circumambulated Lord Siva
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, whatever you have asked from me about the great reputation and character of Dhruva Maharaja I have explained to you in all detail. Great saintly persons and devotees very much like to hear about Dhruva Maharaja
- Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when everyone was thus praising Dhruva Maharaja, the King was very happy & he had Dhruva and his brother seated on the back of a she-elephant. Thus he returned to his capital, where he was praised by all classes of men
- Maitreya continued: O best of the Kuru dynasty (Vidura), I shall now describe before you the descendants of Svayambhuva Manu, who was born of a part of a plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Maitreya continued: O Vidura, seeking to please his beloved wife, the sage Kardama exercised his yogic power and instantly produced an aerial mansion that could travel at his will
- Maitreya continued: The greatest of all devotees, Maharaja Prthu, was very powerful, and his character was liberal, magnificent and magnanimous. Thus I have described him to you as far as possible
- Maitreya continued: The proud and falsely glorious Daitya paid little heed to the words of Varuna. O dear Vidura, he learned from Narada the whereabouts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and hurriedly betook himself to the depths of the ocean
- Maitreya heard the narration from his bona fide spiritual master, and Vidura also heard from Maitreya. One becomes an authority simply by presenting whatever he has heard from his spiritual master
- Maitreya informed Vidura that Nara, the portion of Narayana, had appeared in the family of the Kurus and that Narayana, the plenary expansion of Krsna, had come as Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Maitreya Muni, who was experienced in the science of Transcendence, could understand that Vidura's mind was fully absorbed in Transcendence. Adhoksaja means that which transcends the limits of sense perception or sensuous experience
- Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, because of their pious nature, all the sons of Pracinabarhi very seriously accepted the words of their father with heart & soul, and with these words on their heads, they went toward the west to execute their father's order
- Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, I heard this story of the Daksa yajna, which was devastated by Lord Siva, from Uddhava, a great devotee and a disciple of Brhaspati
- Maitreya said: O Vidura, the four millenniums are called the Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali yugas. The aggregate number of years of all of these combined is equal to twelve thousand years of the demigods
- Maitreya said: O Vidura, thus the demigods worshiped with prayers the Supreme Personality of Godhead appearing as the sage Nara-Narayana. The Lord glanced upon them with mercy and then departed for Gandhamadana Hill
- Maitreya said: You may now hear from me how the Supreme Lord separated Himself into the diverse forms of the demigods after the manifestation of the gigantic universal form
- Maitreya the sage told Vidura: O annihilator of enemies, while thus speaking to her father in the arena of sacrifice, Sati sat down on the ground and faced north
- Maitreya told Vidura: O great soul, from Dambha and Maya were born Greed and Nikrti, or Cunning. From their combination came children named Krodha (Anger) and Himsa (Envy), and from their combination were born Kali and his sister Durukti (Harsh Speech)
- Maitreya was inspired by the thought of Vidura's wonderful fortune. The hairs of his body stood on end, and he was pleased to narrate the topics of the Personality of Godhead with great delight
- Maitreya was very pleased with the inquiries of Vidura because they were the inquiries of a bona fide, advanced devotee. Thus Maitreya was encouraged to answer
- Maitreya, being elderly, had the first claim to becoming the spiritual master, especially for Vidura, who was much older than Uddhava
- Maitreya: A great rsi of yore. He was spiritual master of Vidura and a great religious authority. He advised Dhrtarastra to keep good relations with the Pandavas
- Mandavya Muni was a great sage and Vidura was formerly the controller Yamaraja, who takes charge of the living entities after death
- May I inquire whether Aniruddha is doing well? He is the fulfiller of all the desires of the pure devotees and has been considered from yore to be the cause of the Rg Veda, the creator of the mind and the fourth Plenary expansion of Visnu
- More than five thousand years ago, while Saint Vidura was traveling the earth as a pilgrim, India was known as Bharatavarsa, as it is known even today
- My dear brahmana, how did Narada Muni glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what pastimes were described in that meeting? I am very eager to hear of them. Kindly explain fully about that glorification of the Lord
- My dear faultless Vidura, in that rainfall there was blood, mucus, pus, stool, urine and marrow falling heavily before Dhruva Maharaja, and there were trunks of bodies falling from the sky
- My dear King, at the time of devastation, Lord Siva emits fire and air from his mouth out of anger. To make the surface of the earth completely treeless, the Pracetas also emitted fire and air from their mouths
- My dear King, in this way, after hearing the transcendental messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees from the great sage Maitreya, Vidura was overwhelmed with ecstasy
- My dear Ksatta, Vidura, the celestial damsels come down to those rivers in their airplanes with their husbands, and after sexual enjoyment, they enter the water and enjoy sprinkling their husbands with water
- My dear Lord Vidura, when the great sages observed the wonderful prowess of the son of King Prthu, they all agreed to give him the name Vijitasva
- My dear Maitreya, to part with one's life is very difficult. Would you kindly explain to me how such a son-in-law and father-in-law could quarrel so bitterly that the great goddess Sati could give up her life?
- My dear sage, I have put all these questions before you with a view to knowing the pastimes of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You are the friend of all, so kindly describe them for all those who have lost their vision
- My dear son, since you have inquired from me, I have answered. O sinless one, the descriptions of Kapiladeva and His mother and their activities are the purest of all pure discourses
- My dear Vidura, after giving the King this advice, the priests who had been engaged in performing the sacrifice called for Indra, the King of heaven, in a mood of great anger
- My dear Vidura, all good fortune unto you. The foolish King, who thought himself very learned, thus insulted the great sages, and the sages, being brokenhearted by the King's words, became very angry at him
- My dear Vidura, all the followers of Lord Siva surrounded the arena of sacrifice. They were of short stature and were equipped with various kinds of weapons; their bodies appeared to be like those of sharks, blackish and yellowish
- My dear Vidura, by following the principles instructed by Kapila, Devahuti soon became liberated from material bondage, and she achieved the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as Supersoul, without difficulty
- My dear Vidura, carrier of bows and arrows, all the demigods who were performing the sacrifice took their bath at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna after completing the yajna performance
- My dear Vidura, chief of the Kurus, in this way King Prthu and all the others who subsist on food created different types of calves and milked out their respective eatables. Thus they received their various foodstuffs, which were symbolized as milk
- My dear Vidura, Havirdhana's very powerful son named Barhisat was very expert in performing various kinds of fruitive sacrifices, and he was also expert in the practice of mystic yoga. By his great qualifications, he became known as Prajapati
- My dear Vidura, I have summarily explained the causes of devastation. One who hears this description three times attains piety and washes the sinful contamination from his soul
- My dear Vidura, in that great sacrifice the entire land came to be like the milk-producing kama-dhenu, and thus, by the performance of yajna, all daily necessities for life were supplied
- My dear Vidura, Indra, being the King of heaven and very powerful, immediately brought a dense darkness upon the sacrificial arena. Covering the whole scene in this way, he again took away the horse, which was chained with golden shackles
- My dear Vidura, King Prthu lived in the tract of land between the two great rivers Ganges and Yamuna. Because he was very opulent, it appeared that he was enjoying his destined fortune in order to diminish the results of his past pious activities
- My dear Vidura, now I am mad for want of the pleasure of seeing Him, and just to mitigate this I am now proceeding to Badarikasrama in the Himalayas for association, as I have been instructed by Him
- My dear Vidura, one who hears this narration concerning the understanding of the living entity's spiritual existence, as described by the great sage Narada, or who relates it to others, will be liberated from the bodily conception of life
- My dear Vidura, Suniti was the mother of a great hero. Her tears, together with the milk flowing from her breasts, wet the whole body of Dhruva Maharaja. This was a great, auspicious sign
- My dear Vidura, the great sage Kapila, the Personality of Godhead, left His father's hermitage with the permission of His mother and went towards the northeast
- My dear Vidura, the population of the universe was thus increased by the descendants of these sages and the daughters of Kardama. Anyone who hears the descriptions of this dynasty with faith will be relieved from all sinful reactions
- My dear Vidura, when great sages curse, their words are as invincible as a thunderbolt. Thus when they cursed King Vena out of anger, he died
- My dear Vidura, when thus asked to accept a benediction from Kuvera the Yaksaraja, Dhruva Maharaja, that most elevated pure devotee, who was an intelligent and thoughtful king, begged that he might have unflinching faith in and remembrance of the SPG
- My mind has become very inquisitive, and therefore I am not satisfied with hearing the narration of the Lord's appearance. Please, therefore, speak more and more to a devotee who is faithful
- My uncle, you must have visited Dvaraka. In that holy place are our friends & well-wishers, the descendants of Yadu, who are always rapt in the service of Krsna. You might have seen them or heard about them. Are they all living happily in their abodes?
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- Narada, like Vidura, did not disclose the imminent annihilation of the Yadu dynasty, but indirectly gave a hint to the King and his brothers to wait till the incident happened and the Lord departed
- Now kindly inform me of the durations of life of those greatly learned living entities who are beyond the range of a kalpa
O
- O best of the virtuous (Maitreya Rsi), the original king of kings (Manu) was a great devotee of the Personality of Godhead Hari, and thus it is worth hearing of his sublime character and activities. Please describe them. I (Vidura) am very eager to hear
- O chief of the Kuru dynasty, the Vedic wisdom became manifested from the mouth of the virat, the gigantic form
- O descendant of Bharata (Vidura), while Brahma was observing Him, that boar became situated in the sky in a wonderful manifestation as gigantic as a great elephant
- O gentle one, I simply lament for he (Dhrtarastra) who rebelled against his brother after death. By him I was driven out of my own house, although I am his sincere well-wisher, because he accepted the line of action adopted by his own sons
- O gentle one, of all the physical elements, beginning from the sky down to the earth, all the inferior and superior qualities are due only to the final touch of the glance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- O great and learned one, my mind is greatly illusioned by the distress of this nescience, and I therefore request you to clear it up
- O great brahmana (Maitreya), you have told me (Vidura) that the gigantic virat form and His senses, sense objects and ten kinds of life air exist with three kinds of life vigor
- O great brahmana, you have told me that the gigantic virat form and His senses, sense objects and ten kinds of life air exist with three kinds of life vigor. Now, if you will, kindly explain to me the different powers of the specific divisions
- O great sage, please give me instruction on the transcendental devotional service of the Lord
- O great sage, she thus began to worship the master of the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone's heart
- O greatly fortunate Vidura, this external energy is known as maya or illusion, and through her agency only is the entire material manifestation made possible
- O greatly learned one, kindly eradicate all my doubts, and let me know of all that I have inquired from you from the beginning to the end
- O hero (Vidura), Diti, being thus afflicted by the contamination of lust, and therefore poor and talkative, was pacified by the son of Marici in suitable words
- O hero Vidura, the greatly powerful heroes of the Yaksas, unable to tolerate the resounding vibration of the conchshell of Dhruva Maharaja, came forth from their city with weapons and attacked Dhruva
- O King (Yudhisthira), your uncle Dhrtarastra, his brother Vidura and his wife Gandhari have gone to the southern side of the Himalaya Mountains, where there are shelters of the great sages
- O my dear Vidura, the Lord's waist was covered with yellow cloth resembling the saffron dust of the kadamba flower, and it was encircled by a well-decorated belt. His chest was decorated with the srivatsa marking and a necklace of unlimited value
- O my friend, please, therefore, chant the glories of the Lord, who is meant to be glorified in the places of pilgrimage
- O my lord, I think that the process manifest in the forms of sons, grandsons and family members has spread all over the universe in different varieties and species
- O my son, the original poet, Brahma, after mature meditation for one thousand celestial years, could know only that the glories of the Supreme Soul are inconceivable
- O purest Vidura, of the lower animals the cow, goat, buffalo, krsna stag, hog, gavaya animal, deer, lamb and camel all have two hooves
- O saintly Vidura, while His enemy looked on, the Lord in His boar form, the enjoyer of all sacrificial offerings, playfully knocked down the mace with His left foot, even as it came upon Him with the force of a tempest
- O sinless Vidura, all of a sudden, while Brahma was engaged in thinking, a small form of a boar came out of his nostril. The measurement of the creature was not more than the upper portion of a thumb
- O sinless Vidura, mountains discharged weapons of various kinds, and naked demonesses armed with tridents appeared with their hair hanging loose
- O son of the Bharata family, Diti, after this, went nearer to her husband, her face lowered because of her faulty action. She spoke as follows
- O Vidura, after the departure of Brahma, Kardama Muni, having been ordered by Brahma, handed over his nine daughters, as instructed, to the nine great sages who created the population of the world
- O Vidura, Devahuti served her husband with intimacy and great respect, with control of the senses, with love and with sweet words
- O Vidura, in the Satya millennium mankind properly and completely maintained the principles of religion, but in other millenniums religion gradually decreased by one part as irreligion was proportionately admitted
- O Vidura, it is not at all wonderful that you have so accepted the Lord without deviation of thought, for you were born from the semen of Vyasadeva
- O Vidura, King Indra, his honor having been insulted, poured water incessantly on Vrndavana, & thus the inhabitants of Vraja, were greatly distressed. But the compassionate Lord Krsna saved them from danger with His pastime umbrella, the Govardhana Hill
- O Vidura, they reached the hermitage of the sage, who had just completed his vows of austerity on the very day foretold by the Lord
- O Vidura, thus always meditating upon her son, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kapiladeva, she very soon became unattached to her nicely decorated home
- O Vidura, we (Maitreya) have heard that Brahma had a daughter named Vak who was born from his body and who attracted his mind toward sex, although she was not sexually inclined towards him
- O Vidura, while searching in that way about his existence, Brahma reached his ultimate time, which is the eternal wheel in the hand of Visnu and which generates fear in the mind of the living entity like the fear of death
- O Vidura, who can estimate or measure the transcendental time, work and potency of the gigantic form manifested by the internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
- O warrior, the inquiry made by you is just befitting a devotee because it concerns the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. He is the source of liberation from the chain of birth and death for all those who are otherwise destined to die
- On behalf of many neophyte devotees, Vidura, at the very first instance, inquired from Maitreya about the path of devotional service, by which the Lord, who is seated within the heart, can be pleased
- On the bank of the River Sarasvati there were eleven places of pilgrimage, namely, Trita, Usana, Manu, Prthu, Agni, Asita, Vayu, Sudasa, Go, Guha and Sraddhadeva. Vidura visited all of them and duly performed rituals
- On the inquiry by Vidura about Krsna, Uddhava appeared to be awakened from slumber. He appeared to regret that he had forgotten the lotus feet of the Lord
- On this account of family dissension, he (Vidura) left home. And after the battle of Kuruksetra, when everything was finished, so still, he had affection for his eldest brother
- One can compensate for a life of frustration by becoming a dhira, or leaving home for good without communicating with relatives, and Vidura advised his eldest brother to adopt this way without delay because very quickly the age of Kali was approaching
- One cannot be 100 percent devoted to God unless & until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of Dhrtarastra & Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with God
- One has to follow in the footsteps of great sages and devotees like Maitreya & Vidura, Pariksit & Sukadeva Gosvami, and engage in the transcendental devotional service of God if one would know His ultimate feature, which is above Brahman and Paramatma
- One should also find representatives of Vidura who have no desire in life save and except to serve the Personality of Godhead
- One who is actually faithful and inquisitive is qualified to hear the transcendental pastimes of the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vidura was a suitable candidate to receive such transcendental messages
- Only the devotee, by his factual experience, can understand the import of this verse (SB 3.5.13) spoken by Vidura. The pure devotee of the Lord enjoys life by constantly remembering the lotus feet of the Lord by hearing krsna-katha
P
- Please tell me whether Akrura, the son of Svaphalka, is doing well. He is a faultless soul surrendered unto the Personality of Godhead
- Please tell me whether Arjuna, whose bow bears the name Gandiva and who is always famous amongst the chariot warriors for vanquishing his enemies, is doing well
- Please tell me whether the best friend of the Kurus, our brother-in-law Vasudeva, is doing well. He is very munificent. He is like a father to his sisters, and he is always pleasing to his wives
- Please tell me whether the original Personalities of God, who incarnated Themselves at the request of Brahma (who is born out of the lotus flower) & who increased the prosperity of the world by elevating everyone, are doing well in the house of Surasena
- Please tell me whether the unconquerable Bhima, who is like a cobra, has released his long-cherished anger upon the sinners? The field of battle could not tolerate even the wonderful playing of his club when he stepped on the path
- Political suggestions by Vidura are known as expert, just as, in modern times, Pandita Canakya is considered the authority in good counsel in both political and moral instructions
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- Saint Vidura was a great and pure devotee of the Lord, and therefore his questions to His Grace Rsi Maitreya must have been very purposeful, on the highest level, and approved by learned circles
- Saint Vidura's inquiry is very relevant (in SB 4.9.28). The word artha-vit, which refers to one who knows how to discriminate between reality and unreality, is very significant in this connection. An artha-vit is also called paramahamsa
- Saint Vidura's purpose in hearing about Prthu Maharaja over and over again was to set an example for ordinary kings and executive heads
- Saintly persons like Vidura must be treated as well as a denizen from heaven. In those days denizens of heavenly planets used to visit homes like that of Maharaja Yudhisthira, and sometimes persons like Arjuna and others used to visit higher planets
- Sankara became celebrated by the name Prabhu-padopadhana ("the pillow of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu"). He was like Vidura, as Sukadeva Gosvami previously described him
- Satyaki, Vikarna, Hardikya, Vidura, Santardana and Bhurisrava, the son of Bahlika, were all engaged in different departments for managing the affairs of the Rajasuya sacrifice
- Saunaka inquired about the conversation between Vidura and Maitreya: There must have been many narrations of the spotless pastimes of the Lord
- Saunaka Rsi here (in SB 3.20.1) inquires about the topics of the conversation between Maitreya Rsi and Vidura
- Saunaka Rsi inquired about Vidura, who was a great devotee and friend of Lord Krsna and who gave up the company of his elder brother because the latter, along with his sons, played tricks against the desires of the Lord
- Saunaka Rsi said: Let us know, please, what topics were discussed between Vidura and Maitreya, who talked on transcendental subjects, and what was inquired by Vidura and replied by Maitreya
- Saunaka Rsi therefore asked: What more did Vidura inquire from Maitreya?
- Saunaka Rsi, after hearing all about the creation, inquired from Suta Gosvami about Vidura, for Suta Gosvami had previously informed him how Vidura left home, leaving aside all his relatives, who were very difficult to leave
- Since both Uddhava and Maitreya were directly instructed by the Lord, both had the authority to become the spiritual master of Vidura or anyone else
- Since he was born of a great father, who was supposed to be an incarnation of Narayana and who composed all the Vedic literatures, Vidura was also a great personality
- Since the great sage Maitreya was filled with God consciousness, he had no reason to be astonished at such contradictory questions by Vidura
- Some time ago, being inquisitive to know, Sanat-kumara, the chief of the boy-saints, accompanied by other great sages, inquired exactly like you about the truths regarding Vasudeva, from Lord Sankarsana, who is seated at the bottom of the universe
- Sri Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, Diti, the wife of the sage Kasyapa, could understand that the sons within her womb would be a cause of disturbance to the demigods
- Sri Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, when Dhruva Maharaja heard the encouraging words of the great sages, he performed the acamana by touching water and then took up his arrow made by Lord Narayana and fixed it upon his bow
- Sri Maitreya said: O Vidura, all glory unto you. You have inquired from me of the greatest of all goodness, and thus you have shown your mercy both to the world and to me because your mind is always absorbed in thoughts of the Transcendence
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: After hearing from Uddhava all about the annihilation of his friends and relatives, the learned Vidura pacified his overwhelming bereavement by dint of his transcendental knowledge
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, after hearing all these most virtuous topics from the sage Maitreya, Vidura inquired further on the topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which he adored to hear
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, Maitreya, being thus agitated by the inquisitive Vidura, at first seemed astonished, but then he replied to him without hesitation, since he was fully God conscious
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, while Maitreya, the great sage, was thus speaking, Vidura, the learned son of Dvaipayana Vyasa, expressed a request in a pleasing manner by asking this question
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thus the chief of the sages (Maitreya Rsi), who was always enthusiastic about describing topics regarding the Personality of Godhead, began to narrate the descriptive explanation of the Puranas, being so infused by Vidura
- Sri Suta Gosvami continued: My dear brahmana, Vidura the great devotee of the Lord achieved transcendental bliss by hearing the narration of the pastimes of the SPG from the authoritative source of the sage Kausarava (Maitreya), and he was very pleased
- Sri Suta Gosvami said: The most powerful sage Maitreya was a friend of Vyasadeva. Being encouraged and pleased by Vidura's inquiry about transcendental knowledge, Maitreya spoke as follows
- Sri Suta Gosvami said: While traveling on a pilgrimage, Vidura received knowledge of the destination of the self from the great sage Maitreya and then returned to Hastinapura. He became as well versed in the subject as he desired
- Sri Uddhava said: You may take lessons from the great learned sage Maitreya, who is nearby and who is worshipable for reception of transcendental knowledge. He was directly instructed by the PG while He was about to quit this mortal world
- Sri Vidura inquired: My dear brahmana, the abode of the Lord is very difficult to attain. It can be attained only by pure devotional service, which alone pleases the most affectionate, merciful Lord
- Sri Vidura said: O great brahmana, since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the complete spiritual whole and is unchangeable, how is He connected with the material modes of nature and their activities?
- Sri Vidura said: O great mystic, O greatest of all devotees, by your causeless mercy I have been shown the path of liberation from this world of darkness. By following this path, a person liberated from the material world can return home, back to Godhead
- Sri Vidura said: O great sage, please let me know how Brahma, the grandfather of the planetary inhabitants, created the bodies of the living entities from his own body and mind after the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Srila Jiva Gosvami states that the news (of Uddhava's relatives passing) was shocking to Vidura, who therefore inquired again due to great curiosity. Thus his inquiry was psychological and not practical
- Srila Jiva Gosvami states that the news (that all his relatives had died) was shocking to Vidura, who therefore inquired again (to Uddhava) due to great curiosity. Thus his inquiry was psychological and not practical
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti suggests that the sage Maitreya amalgamated both the boar incarnations in different devastations and summarized them in his description to Vidura
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is the record of bhagavat-katha, topics about the pastimes of the Lord. What Vidura was anxious to hear from Maitreya we can also hear five thousand years later, provided we are very eager
- Such (Vidura) a devotee is neither a sudra nor a brahmana. He is transcendental to divisions of mundane society, just as the Personality of Godhead assumes His incarnation as a hog, but He is neither a hog nor a Brahma. He is above all mundane creatures
- Such disturbances (due to worldly affairs), however, are sometimes favorable for higher realization, and therefore Vidura took advantage of a family misunderstanding in order to meet Maitreya Rsi
- Such mental bewilderment as represented here by Vidura takes place for some living entities, but not for everyone, for if everyone were bewildered there would be no possibility of a solution by higher personalities
- Sukadeva Gosvami continued: Vidura thus offered obeisances unto the great sage Maitreya and, taking his permission, started for the city of Hastinapura to see his own kinsmen, although he had no material desires
- Sukadeva Gosvami said: After renouncing his prosperous home and entering the forest, King Vidura, the great devotee, asked this question of His Grace Maitreya Rsi
- Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, after thus discussing with Vidura the transcendental name, fame, qualities, etc, on the bank of the Yamuna, Uddhava was overwhelmed with great affliction. He passed the night as if it were a moment & thereafter he went away
- Suta Gosvami continued: Vidura, the descendant of Bharata, was delighted to hear the story of the Lord, who, having assumed by His own divine potency the form of a boar, had enacted the sport of lifting the earth from the bottom of the ocean
- Suta Gosvami continued: When Vidura became inspired to hear of the activities of Lord Krsna in His various incarnations, Maitreya, also being inspired and being very pleased with Vidura, began to praise him. Then Maitreya spoke as follows
- Suta Gosvami said: O son of Bhrgu, the great sage Maitreya Muni, thus hearing from Vidura, felt very much enlivened. Everything was in his heart, and thus he began to reply to the questions one after another
- Suta Gosvami, continuing to speak to all the rsis, headed by Saunaka, said: After hearing Maitreya Rsi describe Dhruva's ascent to Lord Visnu's abode, Vidura became very much enlightened in devotional emotion, and he inquired from Maitreya as follows
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- Talks of spiritual enlightenment are so refreshing that while instructing Dhrtarastra, Vidura attracted the attention of all the members of the family, and all of them took pleasure in hearing him patiently. This is the way of spiritual realization
- The activities of the Personality of Godhead, which are like those of a man in this mortal world, are bewildering to others, but I know of His greatness by His grace, and thus I am happy in all respects
- The activities of the purusa incarnations are but an extension of the activities of the Lord. This hint was given by Vidura to Maitreya because Maitreya could not decide which part of the activities of Lord Krsna should he chanted
- The Adityas are sons of Aditi, and there are twelve Adityas. Aryama is one of the twelve Adityas, and therefore it was quite possible for him to take charge of the office of Yamaraja during his one hundred years' absence in the form of Vidura
- The all-inclusive welfare service for the entire human society is devotional service to the Lord, and, as requested by Vidura, the sage described the same very appropriately
- The charity of Maitreya not only will help Vidura, but, due to its universal nature, will deliver all others in all times. Thus Maitreya is immortal
- The conclusion is that Vidura was never a sudra, but was greater than the purest type of brahmana
- The dhira stage is attained after prolonged practice of the yoga system, but by the grace of Vidura one can attain the stage immediately simply by willing to adopt the means of the dhira stage, which is the preparatory stage for sannyasa
- The difference between the Pandavas and Vidura is that the Pandavas are eternal associates of the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, whereas Vidura is one of the administrative demigods in charge of the Pitrloka planet and is known as Yamaraja
- The disappearance of the Krsna sun may be explained as follows, according to the commentary of Visvanatha Cakravarti. Vidura was struck with sorrow when he got the hint of the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty as well as his own family, the Kuru dynasty
- The first answer is that even though it is accepted that he (Vidura) was a sudra by birth, he renounced the world for spiritual enlightenment by the authority of Rsi Maitreya
- The great devotee Uddhava soon came back from the abode of the Lord to the human plane, and wiping his eyes, he awakened his reminiscence of the past and spoke to Vidura in a pleasing mood
- The great Narada's singing of three verses in the sacrificial arena of the Pracetas gave another impetus to Vidura to ask further questions
- The great sage continued: My dear Vidura, Kuvera presented the great King Prthu with a golden throne. The demigod Varuna presented him with an umbrella that constantly sprayed fine particles of water and was as brilliant as the moon
- The great sage Maitreya addressed Vidura as a warrior not only because Vidura belonged to the Kuru family but because he was anxious to hear about the chivalrous activities of the Lord in His incarnations of Varaha and Nrsimha
- The great sage Maitreya continued speaking to Vidura: My dear Vidura, in this way Lord Siva instructed the sons of King Barhisat. The sons of the King also worshiped Lord Siva with great devotion and respect. Finally, Siva became invisible to the princes
- The great sage Maitreya continued speaking: My dear Vidura, when the wives of the denizens of heaven were thus talking amongst themselves, Queen Arci reached the planet which her husband, Maharaja Prthu, the topmost self-realized soul, had attained
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear King Vidura, Sri Narada Muni, the son of Lord Brahma, thus described all these relationships with the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the Pracetas. Afterward, he returned to Brahmaloka
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, at the time King Prthu was enthroned by the great sages and brahmanas and declared to be the protector of the citizens, there was a scarcity of food grains
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, being thus petitioned by the Pracetas, the supreme devotee Narada, who is always absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, began to reply
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, being very much satisfied by the performance of ninety-nine horse sacrifices, the SPG, Lord Visnu, appeared on the scene. Accompanying Him was King Indra. Lord Visnu then began to speak
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, King Prthu initiated the performance of one hundred horse sacrifices at the spot where the River Sarasvati flows towards the east
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, persons like you, who are pure devotees of the lotus feet of Mukunda and who are always attached to the honey of His lotus feet, are always satisfied in serving at the lotus feet of the Lord
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, the heads of those who were cut to pieces by the arrows of Dhruva Maharaja were decorated very beautifully with earrings and turbans
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the protector of surrendered souls, being thus addressed by the Pracetas and worshiped by them, replied, "May whatever you have prayed for be fulfilled"
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, thus the brahmanas and the great sages again churned the two arms of King Vena's dead body. As a result a male and female couple came out of his arms
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when Dhruva Maharaja, who had good intentions in his heart, finished his prayer, the Supreme Lord, the PG, who is very kind to His devotees and servants, congratulated him, speaking as follows
- The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Viduraji, at that time all the brahmanas highly praised and glorified King Prthu, and the best singers of Gandharvaloka chanted his glories. The inhabitants of Siddhaloka showered flowers
- The great sage Maitreya continued: O great hero Vidura, the great sages, headed by Bhrgu, were always thinking of the welfare of the people in general
- The great sage Maitreya Muni said to Vidura: The royal dynasty of King Puru is worthy to serve the pure devotees because all the descendants of that family are devoted to the Personality of Godhead
- The great sage Maitreya now gives the final answer to all the questions of Vidura: devotional service to the Lord is the ultimate means to mitigate all the miserable conditions of material existence
- The great sage Maitreya replied: My dear Vidura, when Maharaja Dhruva departed for the forest, his son, Utkala, did not desire to accept the opulent throne of his father, which was meant for the ruler of all the lands of this planet
- The great sage Maitreya said to Vidura: My dear Vidura, as soon as King Daksa offered the clarified butter with Yajur Veda mantras in sanctified meditation, Lord Visnu appeared there in His original form as Narayana
- The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, all the personalities present were very much satisfied in heart and soul upon hearing the words of Lord Siva, who is the best among the benedictors
- The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, Dhruva Maharaja's anger subsided, and he completely ceased killing Yaksas. When Kuvera, the most blessed master of the treasury, learned this news, he appeared before Dhruva
- The great sage Maitreya said: My dear Vidura, thereafter Dhruva Maharaja married the daughter of Prajapati Sisumara, whose name was Bhrami, and two sons named Kalpa and Vatsara were born of her
- The great sage Maitreya thanked Vidura and praised him by reference to his family glories. The Puru dynasty was full of devotees of the Personality of Godhead and was therefore glorious
- The great sage Maitreya told Vidura: When the demigods were thus reassured by the Personality of Godhead, they were freed from all fears, and after offering their obeisances, they returned to their heavenly planets
- The great sage Maitreya told Vidura: When the King entered his city, it was very beautifully decorated to receive him with pearls, flower garlands, beautiful cloth and golden gates, and the entire city was perfumed with highly fragrant incense
- The great sage Parasara, being so advised by the great sage Pulastya, spoke unto me the foremost of the Puranas (Bhagavatam). I shall also describe this before you, my dear son, in terms of my hearing, because you are always my faithful follower
- The great sage Sri Maitreya was explaining to Vidura the activities of the demigods, including Lord Brahma. When Diti heard from her husband that the sons she bore within her abdomen would be causes of disturbances to the demigods, she was not very happy
- The great sage Vidura continued: O best of the brahmanas, it is very difficult for living entities encaged within this material body to have personal contact with Lord Siva
- The great saint Maitreya continued to address Vidura: My dear Vidura, at that time, after the planet earth finished her prayers, King Prthu was still not pacified, and his lips trembled in great anger
- The great saint Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, in this way Maharaja Prthu, the conqueror of the entire world, accepted the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead on his head
- The great saint Maitreya told Vidura: The Supreme Personality of Godhead amply appreciated the meaningful prayers of Maharaja Prthu. Thus, after being properly worshiped by the King, the Lord blessed him and decided to depart
- The greatly learned sage Maitreya said: O Vidura, Brahma thus engaged himself in penances for one hundred celestial years, as advised by the Personality of Godhead, and applied himself in devotional service to the Lord
- The happiness of the family of the Lord's devotees depends on the happiness of the Lord, Vidura first of all inquired about the well-being of the Lord
- The history of Vidura is that he was born of a sudra mother, but his seminal father was Vyasadeva; thus he was not less than Vyasadeva in any respect
- The holy place becomes infected with the sins of many visitors. When an advanced devotee goes to a holy place, he counteracts all the sins of the pilgrims. Therefore Maharaja Yudhisthira addressed Vidura in this way
- The horse, mule, ass, gaura, sarabha bison and wild cow all have only one hoof. Now you (Vidura) may hear from me (Maitreya) about the animals who have five nails
- The horse, mule, ass, gaura, sarabha bison and wild cow all have only one hoof. Now you may hear from me about the animals who have five nails
- The inquisitiveness of Vidura was quite fitting, for he understood that when the Supersoul, Brahma & Siva all appeared through the person of Anasuya, the wife of Atri Muni, there must have been some great purpose. Otherwise why should they have appeared
- The instruction described in this verse cannot be applied to Maharaja Yudhisthira or his brothers and mother. It was meant for persons like Dhrtarastra, for whom Vidura came especially to impart lessons
- The King asked Sukadeva Gosvami: Where and when did the meeting and discussion take place between Saint Vidura and His Grace Maitreya Muni? Kindly oblige, my lord, and describe this to us
- The knowledge which was received by Uddhava directly from the Lord deserves to be distributed in human society, especially to persons like Vidura, who are highly advanced in the devotional service of the Lord
- The learned sage Maitreya was sitting in a solitary place on the bank of the Ganges at Hardwar, and Vidura, who was a perfect devotee of the Lord and possessed all good transcendental qualities, approached him for inquiry
- The Lord (Krsna) was merciful even to His enemy, and the success of the King of Cedi was observed by everyone who was present in the assembly. Vidura was also present there, and therefore Uddhava referred the incident to his memory
- The Lord is transcendental to our sense experience, but He reveals Himself to the sincere devotee. Because Vidura was always absorbed in thought of the Lord, Maitreya could estimate Vidura's transcendental value
- The Lord's mercy was bestowed upon him (Dhrtarastra) by his personal contact with Vidura, and when he was actually practicing the instructions of Vidura, the Lord helped him to attain the highest perfectional stage
- The Lord's omnipresence is perceived and manifested by His unalloyed devotees like Vidura, just as electricity is manifested in an electric bulb
- The next question put forward by Vidura to Maitreya is, "Why are the living entities subjected to so many miseries and misfortunes in spite of the Lord's presence in their hearts as the Supersoul
- The place where Devahuti achieved her perfection, my dear Vidura, is understood to be a most sacred spot. It is known all over the three worlds as Siddhapada
- The potencies of the Lord are also known to Bali, Amurttaraya, Dilipa, Saubhari, Utanka, Sibi, Devala, Pippalada, Sarasvata, Uddhava, Parasara, Bhurisena, Vibhisana, Hanuman, Sukadeva Gosvami, Arjuna, Arstisena, Vidura, Srutadeva, etc
- The problem is not to check the growth of the population, but to generate good population on the level of Vidura, Vyasa and Maitreya
- The proud and falsely glorious Daitya paid little heed to the words of Varuna. O dear Vidura, he learned from Narada the whereabouts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and hurriedly betook himself to the depths of the ocean
- The reason for his quitting the house was not a family misunderstanding; rather, Vidura took the opportunity to meet Rsi Maitreya and discuss transcendental knowledge. For a saintly person like Vidura, disturbances due to worldly affairs is insignificant
- The rsis headed by Saunaka were more anxious to know about Vidura, who met Maitreya Rsi while traveling to the pilgrimage sites of the world
- The sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, as a snake, when struck by a stick, breathes very heavily, Dhruva Maharaja, having been struck by the strong words of his stepmother, began to breathe very heavily because of great anger
- The sage Maitreya continued: O Vidura, all the progenitors of the universal population thus executed a sacrifice for thousands of years, for sacrifice is the best way to worship the Supreme Lord, Hari, the Personality of Godhead
- The sage Maitreya said to Vidura: After his appearance, Manu, the father of mankind, along with his wife, thus addressed the reservoir of Vedic wisdom, Brahma, with obeisances and folded hands
- The sage Maitreya said: O mighty-armed Vidura, Lord Siva, being thus pacified by the words of Lord Brahma, spoke as follows in answer to Lord Brahma's request
- The sage Maitreya said: O Vidura, after observing the source of his appearance, namely the Personality of Godhead, Brahma prayed for His mercy as far as his mind and words would permit him
- The sage Maitreya was very pleased with Vidura's words, and, being influenced by his spirit, he attempted to speak
- The signs pointed out by Vidura in the body of Dhrtarastra were signs of apaksaya, or dwindling of the material body before the last stroke of death. The body is born, it develops, stays, creates other bodies, dwindles and then vanishes
- The story (Vidura's) is narrated as follows. Once upon a time the state police caught some thieves who had concealed themselves in the hermitage of Manduka Muni. The police constables, as usual, arrested all the thieves and Manduka Muni along with them
- The story of the Battle of Kuruksetra may be interesting for the mass of people, but to a person like Vidura, who is highly advanced in devotional service, only krsna-katha and that which is dovetailed with krsna-katha is interesting
- The sudra incarnation of Yamaraja was known as Vidura, the sudra brother of Dhrtarastra and Maharaja Pandu
- The symptoms of the highest order of devotional life were observed by Vidura, an experienced devotee of the Lord, and he confirmed Uddhava's perfectional stage of love of Godhead
- The talks between Uddhava and Vidura on the topic of Krsna began at sunset, and Vidura was now further advanced in knowledge due to his association with Uddhava
- The value of great parentage and noble birth is evaluated here in connection with the birth of Vidura
- The value of great parentage and noble birth is evaluated in connection with the birth of Vidura
- The word adrtah is significant because it indicates that Vidura had a natural inclination for hearing the transcendental message of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he was never fully satisfied though continuing to hear those topics
- The word gata-vyathah (without being sorry) is significant here (SB 3.1.16) because Vidura was relieved from the tribulations which trouble every man entangled in material activities
- The words virajas tirtha-sevaya refer to Vidura, who was completely cleansed of all contamination by traveling to places of pilgrimage
- The Yadavas and the Pandavas, who were always rapt in the thought of the Lord Krsna and His different transcendental activities, were all pure devotees of the Lord like Vidura
- Then how could he (Vidura) occupy the post of a preacher to instruct such learned kings and ksatriyas as Dhrtarastra and Maharaja Yudhisthira?
- Then with His mace the Lord (Varahadeva) struck the enemy (Hiranyaksa) on the right of his brow, but since the demon was expert in fighting, O gentle Vidura, he protected himself by a maneuver of his own mace
- Then, O Vidura, the Lord caused all the kings, both the enemies & those on the side of your fighting nephews, to be killed in the Battle of Kuruksetra. All those kings were so great and strong that the earth seemed to shake as they traversed the warfield
- There are eight kinds of transcendental changes in the body - tears, shivering of the body, perspiration, restlessness, throbbing, choking of the throat, etc. - and all were manifested by Uddhava in the presence of Vidura
- There are many instances in which candalas, or those lower than sudras, have served Krsna. Also, the sage Vidura was considered a sudra because his mother happened to be sudra
- There are many such instances of calamities, and in each of them Vidura gave protection to the Pandavas on one hand, and on the other he tried to restrain his brother Dhrtarastra from such intriguing policies
- Therefore, O Vidura, how can persons completely under the shelter of Lord Krsna in devotional service be put into miseries pertaining to the body, the mind, nature, and other men and living creatures?
- These arca forms of the Lord may be considered idols by the atheists, but that does not matter for persons like Vidura or His many other servants. The forms of the Lord are mentioned here (SB 3.1.18) as ananta-linga
- They (Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura and Arjuna) concluded that the girl (Laksmana, Duryodhana's daughter) could not be married to any boy other than Samba, since she had already been touched by him
- They (Dhrtarastra, Bhisma, Vidura and Arjuna) decided that he (Samba) must be punished. They unanimously declared that he was most impudent and had degraded the Kurus' family tradition
- They (Vidura and Akrura) pacified her (Kunti), saying that her sons were extraordinarily powerful; she should not be perturbed about them, since they were born of great demigods like Yamaraja, Indra and Vayu
- They are (transcendental literatures) ever fresh to the learned scholars and devotees, and even by daily repetition of the verses of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, there is no satiation for devotees like Vidura
- They forget their permanent identity and become foolishly active for impermanent occupations, forgetting altogether their prime duty. Saints and sages like Vidura approach such foolish men to awaken them to the real situation
- This (CC Madhya 17.142) is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 3.15.43). Vidura and Maitreya discussed the pregnancy of Diti
- This (Putana attain position of Krsna's mother) is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, where Uddhava says to Vidura that Krsna is so kind, God is so kind, that even the witch who wanted to kill Him with poison was accepted as His mother
- This (the disagreement between Dhrtarastra and Vidura) resulted in Vidura's leaving home for pilgrimage and taking instructions from Maitreya
- This (the notice of the arrival of death) is explained before Dhrtarastra because he might ask Vidura to find out some remedial measure for the imminent fearful situation, as he had ordered many times before
- This is specifically described in the Mahabharata (Adi-parva 114). He (Vidura) indirectly hinted, A weapon not made of steel or any other material element can be more than sharp to kill an enemy, and he who knows this is never killed
- This is the highest perfectional development of spiritual identity, which was attained by Dhrtarastra by the grace of Vidura and the Lord
- This mysterious history of Vidura (he is Vyasadeva's son) was known to Maitreya Muni because he happened to be a contemporary friend of Vyasadeva's
- This pancaratrika procedure was first introduced by the great sage Narada, as referred to here (in SB 4.13.3) by Vidura
- This sudra son of the Kuru dynasty was equally treated by Bhismadeva, along with his other nephews, and in due course Vidura was married with a girl who was also born in the womb of a sudrani by a brahmana
- This verse (CC Adi 1.63) was spoken by Maharaja Yudhisthira to Vidura in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 1.13.10). Maharaja Yudhisthira was receiving his saintly uncle Vidura, who had been visiting sacred places of pilgrimage
- This verse (CC Madhya 20.57) was spoken by Maharaja Yudhisthira to Vidura in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 1.13.10). Vidura was returning home after visiting sacred places of pilgrimage, and Maharaja Yudhisthira was receiving his saintly uncle
- This verse (of CC Madhya 11.32) is a quotation from Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 3.7.20). It was spoken by Vidura in his conversation with Maitreya Rsi, a great devotee of the Lord
- This Vidura was Yamaraja. So he was cursed by one muni to go down and take birth in sudra family. Yamaraja was very exalted post
- Thus being pierced by arrows through his ears and afflicted to the core of his heart, Vidura placed his bow on the door and quit his brother's palace. He was not sorry, for he considered the acts of the external energy to be supreme
- Thus being questioned by Maharaja Yudhisthira, Mahatma Vidura gradually described everything he had personally experienced, except news of the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty
- Thus married, the sages took leave of Kardama and departed full of joy, each for his own hermitage, O Vidura
- Thus Vidura could understand that Uddhava had completely assimilated extensive love for the Lord
- 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 Dhrtarastras, even at the present moment
- To take birth in such a great family is understood to be an advantage for attaining devotional life. Vidura was given this chance due to his previous greatness
- To the devotees he (Yamaraja) is a cordial friend, but to the nondevotees he is fear personified. It is understood that Yamaraja was cursed by Manduka Muni to be degraded as a sudra, and therefore Vidura was an incarnation of Yamaraja
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- Uddhava could understand Vidura's grief, therefore he first of all wanted to sympathize with him by saying that after sunset everyone is in darkness. Since the entire world was merged in the darkness of grief, neither them nor anyone else could be happy
- Uddhava decided to send an elderly person like Vidura to Maitreya, another elderly person, but he was well versed also because he was directly instructed by the Lord while He was about to quit this mortal world
- Uddhava said: O Vidura, when I was thus favored at every moment by the SP of Godhead and addressed by Him with great affection, my words failed in tears, and the hairs on my body erupted. After smearing my tears, I, with folded hands, spoke like this
- Uddhava undoubtedly became old, but that does not mean that his spirit became old. His service attitude matured on the transcendental plane, and as soon as he was questioned by Vidura about Lord Krsna, he at once forgot himself on the physical plane
- Uddhava was as much aggrieved as Vidura, and there was nothing further to be said about their welfare
- Uddhava, being well aware of all these technicalities of transcendental science, advised Vidura to approach Maitreya Rsi to receive transcendental knowledge
- Upon being asked by Vidura, the sage Maitreya began to explain the cause of the misunderstanding between Lord Siva and Daksa, because of which the goddess Sati gave up her body
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- Vasudeva's sister Kunti was the wife of Pandu, Vidura's elder brother, and in that sense also, Vasudeva was brother-in-law to Vidura. Kunti was younger than Vasudeva, and it was the duty of the elder brother to treat younger sisters as daughters
- Vidura accepted Maitreya as his spiritual master
- Vidura accepted this (being remembered by Lord Krsna) as a great favor, and thus he cried
- Vidura advised Dhrtarastra to get rid of such an unworthy son as Duryodhana as soon as possible if he was at all anxious to see to the good of his family
- Vidura again wanted to hear about Pracinabarhi's sons, and he was especially inquisitive to know what they achieved by satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Here the words siddhim apuh, or "achieved perfection," are very important
- Vidura appealed to Maitreya Muni to speak on subjects about which he might not have asked
- Vidura asked all relevant questions of Maitreya because he knew well that Maitreya was the right person to reply to all the points of his inquiries
- Vidura asked him (Dhrtarastra) to get out (of the false position of King) immediately, if he wanted to be saved from the fearful situation which was approaching him fast
- Vidura asked Maitreya some common questions, which was not originally his intention. Uddhava asked Vidura to approach Maitreya Muni and inquire into all the truths concerning the Lord, His name, fame, quality, form, pastimes, entourage, etc
- Vidura asked Maitreya: My dear brahmana, why did the Pracetas meet Lord Siva on the way? Please tell me how the meeting happened, how Lord Siva became very pleased with them and how he instructed them
- Vidura asked Uddhava about the welfare of his relatives, although he already knew that they were no longer in the world. This inquiry appears to be very queer
- Vidura belonged to the royal family of the Kauravas, and although he knew that all the family members were destroyed at the Battle of Kuruksetra, he nonetheless wanted to see his elder brother, Dhrtarastra, to see if he could deliver him from maya
- Vidura came in disguise to the Pandavas and informed them that the housekeeper was going to set fire to the house on the fourteenth night of the waning moon
- Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord
- Vidura continued: I know that the great sage Narada is the greatest of all devotees. He has compiled the pancaratrika procedure of devotional service and has directly met the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Vidura did not ask about the welfare of his elder brother because there was no chance of his well-being, only news of his gliding down to hell. Vidura was a sincere well-wisher for Dhrtarastra, and he had a thought about him in the corner of his heart
- Vidura explained to Maitreya his position of being fully satiated with the knowledge of mundane social and political topics and having no more interest in them. He was anxious to hear transcendental topics regarding Lord Sri Krsna
- Vidura gave Dhrtarastra very good counsel regarding political alliance with the sons of Prtha, the Pandavas. The first thing he said was that Lord Krsna was intimately related with them as their cousin
- Vidura had already surpassed the fallible nature of the living entity in conditional life due to his being acyuta-bhava, or legitimately absorbed in the devotional service of the Lord
- Vidura had this relationship with Maitreya (of surrendering to the spiritual master and taking the dust of his lotus feet on his head ), and he attained the results
- Vidura happened to be among them (great devotees of the Lord), the Lord, while returning to Vaikuntha, left instructions for Vidura with Maitreya Muni. Generally the eternal associates of the Lord in the spiritual sky do not come to the material world
- Vidura herein inquires about the duration of life on other planets
- Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O brahmana, you formerly spoke about the sons of Pracinabarhi and informed me that they satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead by chanting a song composed by Lord Siva. What did they achieve in this way?
- Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O greatly advanced devotee, who were the Pracetas? To which family did they belong? Whose sons were they, and where did they perform the great sacrifices?
- Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O my lord, O greatly learned sage, kindly describe eternal time, which is another form of the Supreme Lord, the wonderful actor. What are the symptoms of that eternal time? Please describe them to us in detail
- Vidura inquired from the great sage Maitreya: My dear brahmana, since mother earth can appear in different shapes, why did she take the shape of a cow? And when King Prthu milked her, who became the calf, and what was the milking pot?
- Vidura inquired from the sage Maitreya: My dear brahmana, King Anga was very gentle. He had high character and was a saintly personality and lover of brahminical culture. How is it that such a great soul got a bad son like Vena
- Vidura inquired how the Lord's activities can be in the modes of material nature, as is sometimes miscalculated by persons with a poor fund of knowledge
- Vidura inquired indirectly from Uddhava about the incident of the Lord's (Krsna's) disappearance by asking him to relate krsna-katha, or topics on the history of Lord Krsna
- Vidura inquired: How did the Prajapatis (such progenitors of living entities as Marici and Svayambhuva Manu) create according to the instruction of Brahma, and how did they evolve this manifested universe?
- Vidura inquired: Why was Daksa, who was so affectionate towards his daughter, envious of Lord Siva, who is the best among the gentle? Why did he neglect his daughter Sati?
- Vidura is addressed here as a hero because no one is stronger in self-control than a devotee of the Lord
- Vidura is clearing the misconception that when the Lord either descends on the earth in His incarnation or appears Himself with all His potencies, He too is subjected to the influence of maya, just like an ordinary living entity
- Vidura is hearing the great sage Maitreya refute these arguments (that the Lord and the living entities are on the same level). The Lord is described in this verse (SB 3.7.2) as cin-matra, or completely spiritual
- Vidura knew the strength of Bhima. Whenever Bhima was on the battlefield, his steps on the path and the wonderful playing of his club were unbearable for the enemy
- Vidura left home in order to devote himself completely to the service of the Lord, but the Pandavas and the Yadavas were always rapt in the thought of Lord Krsna. Thus there is no difference in their pure devotional qualities
- Vidura left home. Although he belonged to the royal family, his nephew Duryodhana behaved with him not very nicely, so he left home
- Vidura left the protection of his elder brother Dhrtarastra, went traveling everywhere to sacred places and met Maitreya at Hardwar
- Vidura might have heard the pastimes of God many, many times before he met Maitreya, but still he wanted the same narrations to be repeated because he was never satiated by hearing them. That is the transcendental nature of the Lord's glorious pastimes
- Vidura never became an enemy of Dhrtarastra but continued to be his well-wisher, & at the last stage of his life, it was Vidura only who proved to be his real friend. Such is the behavior of Vaisnavas like Vidura: he desires all good even for his enemies
- Vidura particularly came to enlighten Dhrtarastra and to give him a lift to the higher status of spiritual cognition. It is the duty of enlightened souls to deliver the fallen ones, and Vidura came for that reason
- Vidura put forward many varieties of questions with a view to understanding the principles of transcendental loving service to the Lord
- Vidura questioned the sage Maitreya as to the cause of the misunderstanding between Lord Siva and Daksa. Another question is why the strife between Daksa and his son-in-law caused Sati to destroy her body
- Vidura requested Maitreya to explain these differences between all the living creatures made by Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Vidura requested Maitreya: My dear brahmana, you are well conversant with all subjects, both past and future. Therefore I wish to hear from you all the activities of King Vena. I am your faithful devotee, so please explain this
- Vidura retired from putting questions before Maitreya Muni when he was convinced by him that the summum bonum of life is to be finally situated in the transcendental loving service of Lord Sri Krsna ,Govinda one who satisfies His devotees in all respects
- Vidura rightly advised his eldest brother to get rid of this source of trouble. Dhrtarastra was wrongly maintaining such personified offense under the mistaken impression that Duryodhana was a good son, able to liberate his father
- Vidura said to Dhrtarastra: You have been blind from your very birth, and recently you have become hard of hearing. Your memory is shortened, and your intelligence is disturbed. Your teeth are loose, your liver is defective, and you are coughing up mucus
- Vidura said: He (Yudhisthira) is waiting with his younger brothers, among whom is the revengeful Bhima, breathing heavily like a snake. Surely you (Dhrtarastra) are afraid of him
- Vidura said: I now understand the life durations of the residents of the Pita planets and heavenly planets as well as that of the human beings
- Vidura said: My dear brahmana Maitreya, it is very enlightening to understand that King Prthu was enthroned by the great sages and brahmanas
- Vidura said: O great sage (Maitreya) whose only wealth is penance, kindly explain to me how and with whose help Brahma established the Vedic knowledge which emanated from his mouth
- Vidura said: O great sage (Maitreya), what did Svayambhuva, the dear son of Brahma, do after obtaining his very loving wife?
- Vidura said: O great sage, everyone in this world engages in fruitive activities to attain happiness, but one finds neither satiation nor the mitigation of distress
- Vidura said: O powerful sage, my lord, all my doubts about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities have now been removed by your convincing words. My mind is now perfectly entering into them
- Vidura said: O Uddhava, because the servants of Visnu, the Lord, wander in the interest of serving others, it is quite fit that you kindly describe the self-knowledge with which you have been enlightened by the Lord Himself
- Vidura said: Since you know of matters inconceivable to us, tell me, O holy sage, what did Brahma do to create living beings after evolving the Prajapatis, the progenitors of living beings?
- Vidura said: The line of Svayambhuva Manu was most esteemed. O worshipful sage, I beg you - give me an account of this race, whose progeny multiplied through sexual intercourse
- Vidura said: You (Dhrtarastra) must now return the legitimate share to Yudhisthira, who has no enemies and who has been forbearing through untold sufferings due to your offenses
- Vidura said: You must now return the legitimate share to Yudhisthira, who has no enemies and who has been forbearing through untold sufferings due to your offenses
- Vidura said: Your (Dhrtarastra's) father, brother, well-wishers and sons are all dead and passed away. You yourself have expended the major portion of your life, your body is now overtaken by invalidity, and you are living in the home of another
- Vidura sarcastically addressed Dhrtarastra as the "King," which he was actually not. Everyone is the servant of eternal time, and therefore no one can be king in this material world. King means the person who can order
- Vidura the self-realized soul
- Vidura wanted to accept Uddhava as his spiritual master, but Uddhava did not accept the post because Vidura was as old as Uddhava's father and Uddhava could not accept him as his disciple, especially when Maitreya was present nearby
- Vidura wanted to achieve sincere devotional service of the Lord and therefore became a soul absolutely surrendered to the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He could realize this in the progress of his pilgrim's journey, & thus he was freed from all doubts
- Vidura wanted to impress upon his elder brother that fighting with the Pandavas was fraught with many dangers because they were supported by Krsna, who had conquered, even in His childhood
- Vidura wanted to point out to Dhrtarastra that everyone has to protect himself by his action and the grace of the Lord
- 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 Dhrtarastra, but at the present moment there are Dhrtarastras in every home
- Vidura was already perfect due to his unalloyed devotion to the infallible Lord. The Lord and the living entities are all qualitatively the same by nature, but the Lord is quantitatively much greater than any individual living entity
- Vidura was also very much obliged to his eldest brother, and he was always giving him good advice, and a great devotee
- Vidura was anxious to know from Uddhava that confidential knowledge known as paramam sthitim, in which the Lord is known by His transcendental pastimes
- Vidura was anxious to know whether, after winning back their own kingdom from the hands of Duryodhana, the younger brothers were still living happily under the care of the elder brothers
- Vidura was astonished to see the marvelous departure of his brother Dhrtarastra as a liberated yogi, for in his past life he was much attached to materialism. Of course it was only due to Vidura that his brother attained the desirable goal of life
- Vidura was astonished. "Daksa is such a great man," he thought, "and is the father of Sati. And Lord Siva is the spiritual master of everyone. How then could there possibly be so much enmity between them?"
- Vidura was certainly very mortified by the death of his brother and sister-in-law, and the only remedy to mitigate such lamentation was to go out to pilgrimage. Thus Maharaja Yudhisthira had no chance to call back Vidura, his surviving uncle
- Vidura was confident about this (although junior by age, Uddhava was much advanced in the devotional service of the Lord), and thus he addressed Uddhava in that higher category. That is the way of courteous dealings between two devotees
- Vidura was glad to learn about it. But he was sorry that he could not make his brother turn into a pure devotee. This was not done by Vidura because of Dhrtarastra's being inimical to the Pandavas, who were all devotees of the Lord
- Vidura was much older than Uddhava. By family relationship Uddhava was a contemporary brother of Krsna's, while Vidura was as elderly as Krsna's father Vasudeva
- Vidura was never attracted by the royal palace of his brother. He was always ready to leave the place and devote himself completely to the transcendental loving service of the Lord
- Vidura was not a sadhu to satisfy the ill-gotten sentiment of Dhrtarastra. He was correctly pointing out the real situation of life, and how one can save oneself from such catastrophies
- Vidura was not actually a sudra. He was to play the part of a so-called sudra for one hundred years, being cursed by Manduka Muni
- Vidura was not at all sorry to be bereft of his hearth and home because he now had experience that dependence on the mercy of the Lord is a greater freedom than so-called freedom at home
- Vidura was older than Uddhava, like a father, and therefore when the two met, Uddhava bowed down before Vidura, & Vidura embraced him because Uddhava was younger, like a son. Vidura's brother Pandu was Krsna's uncle, & Uddhava was a cousin to Lord Krsna
- Vidura was overwhelmed by the ecstasy of love when he understood that Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thought of him at the last moment. Although he thought of himself as insignificant, he was remembered by God, by His causeless mercy
- Vidura was purified of all passion by wandering in sacred places, and at last he reached Hardwar, where he met the great sage who knew the science of spiritual life, and he inquired from him
- Vidura was qualified to hear it because of his faithfulness and his following the instructions received from superiors. So Srimad-Bhagavatam was being narrated from time immemorial by the disciplic succession, even before the time of Vyasadeva
- Vidura was so dear to the members of the Kaurava family that his long absence from the palace was comparable to inactivity. All of them were feeling acute separation from Vidura, and therefore his return to the palace was joyful for all
- 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
- Vidura was successful in approaching such a spiritual master like Maitreya, and he got the ultimate goal of life: bhakti unto Govinda. Thus there was nothing to be known further about spiritual progress
- Vidura was the son of a dasi, and he was thus not counted amongst the ksatriyas. King Dhrtarastra was very affectionate toward his younger dasi-putra brother, Vidura, and Vidura was a great friend and philosophical advisor to Dhrtarastra
- Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul, otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts
- Vidura was very eager to receive transcendental knowledge, and because of this, Maitreya was very pleased with him
- Vidura was very much attached to his elder brother (Dhrtarastra), and all along he tried to guide him on the right path
- Vidura was well received by all the family members by exchange of embraces and obeisances. After that, bathing and arrangements for a sumptuous dinner were made, and then he was given sufficient rest
- Vidura went out from the palace to detach himself from household affairs, especially political intrigues
- Vidura's inquiry about such persons is a clear indication of the existence of all the paraphernalia of God. This is also confirmed in the Kasi-khanda, as quoted by both Jiva Gosvami and Visvanatha Cakravarti, who follow in the footsteps of Sridhara Svami
- Vidura's inquiry was about the youngest brothers of the Pandavas, namely Nakula and Sahadeva. These twin brothers were sons of Madri, the stepmother of the other Pandavas
- Vidura's inquiry was, "How did they (Prajapatis and their wives) beget the population in the beginning?"
- Vidura's mother, although a sudrani, was the grandmother of Duryodhana, and funny talks are sometimes allowed between grandmother and grandchildren
- Vidura's qualification was that he was not only a friend of the Lord but also a great devotee
- Vidura's reference to the Mahabharata indicates that he had heard of the Mahabharata from Vyasadeva, his real father, while he was away from home and was touring the places of pilgrimage
- Vidura, as a saint and as the duty-bound affectionate youngest brother of Dhrtarastra, wanted to awaken Dhrtarastra from his slumber of disease and old age
- Vidura, being affected with delight and grief, will then leave that place of sacred pilgrimage
- Vidura, born in the womb of a sudra woman, was forbidden even to be a party of royal heritage along with his brothers Dhrtarastra and Pandu
- Vidura, during the time of war between the two section, he was traveling in the holy places of pilgrimage and talking with his spiritual master, Maitreya
- Vidura, I have explained to you the PG coming down as the first boar incarnation and killing in a great fight a demon of unprecedented prowess as if he were just a plaything. This has been narrated by me as I heard it from my predecessor spiritual master
- Vidura, the best amongst the Kuru dynasty, who was perfect in devotional service to the Lord, thus reached the source of the celestial Ganges River (Hardwar), where Maitreya, the great, fathomless learned sage of the world, was seated
- Vidura, therefore, could see nothing but Krsna in the different arca forms (because they are nondifferent from Krsna), and ultimately he was able to realize Krsna alone and nothing else
- Vidura, was astonished how powerful is the urge to continue life. This sense of continuing one's life indicates that a living being is eternally a living entity and does not want to change his bodily habitation
- Vidura, who was perfect in gentleness and satisfied in transcendence, inquired from him
- Vidura: One of the prominent figures in the history of the Mahabharata
- Vyasadeva, following the order of his mother, Satyavati, begot three sons, two by the womb of Ambika and Ambalika, the two wives of his brother Vicitravirya, and the third by Vicitravirya's maidservant. These sons were Dhrtarastra, Pandu and Vidura
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- We can just imagine how responsible a task is entrusted to a sadhu like Mahatma Vidura
- We have actually seen that one can never become satiated by hearing the conversations between Vidura and Maitreya. Both of them are devotees, and the more Vidura inquires, the more Maitreya is encouraged to speak
- When a great saintly person like Vidura sees his relatives, he desires only to deliver them from the clutches of maya. Vidura thus offered his respectful obeisances to his spiritual master & departed for the city of Hastinapura, kingdom of the Kauravas
- When Dhrtarastra's son Duryodhana understood that Vidura had thus informed the Pandavas, he was very angry. Such is the nature of politics
- When King Dhrtarastra, Vidura, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Bhismadeva, Dronacarya, Kunti, Nakula, Sahadeva, Narada, Vyasadeva and many other relatives and kinsmen were about to depart, they felt separation and therefore embraced each and every member
- When she (Kunti) inquired from her son about the purport of the conversation, Yudhisthira replied that from the talks of Vidura it was understood that there was a hint of fire in the house where they were proceeding
- When the Pandavas were going there in the presence of all the members of the royal family, Vidura tactfully gave instructions to the Pandavas about the future plan of Dhrtarastra
- When the sages, headed by Saunaka, inquired about Kapiladeva, the incarnation of Godhead, Suta Gosvami, who was the topmost devotee of the Lord, quoted talks about self-realization between Vidura and Maitreya, a friend of Vyasadeva's
- When they saw Vidura return to the palace, all the inhabitants - Maharaja Yudhisthira, his younger brothers and others,all hurried to him in great delight. It so appeared that they had regained their consciousness after a long period
- When Uddhava wanted to speak to Vidura, he came down from the abode of the Lord, Dvaraka, to the material plane of human beings
- When Uddhava was describing Krsna's pastimes to Vidura, he said, "One day the gopis became stunned when Krsna, in the dress of a gardening maid, entered the greenhouse and enlivened them with joking and laughter"
- When Vidura approached Maitreya, he should have asked only about the Lord. But out of natural humility he did not immediately ask about the Lord, but inquired into a subject which would be of great importance to the common man
- When Vidura was invited by his elder brother (Dhrtarastra) for consultation, he entered the house and gave instructions which were exactly to the point. His advice is well known, and instructions by Vidura are approved by expert ministers of state
- When Yamaraja incarnated himself as Vidura, his post was officiated by Aryama, one of the many sons of Kasyapa and Aditi
- Where is my (Yudhisthira) well-wisher, uncle Vidura, and mother Gandhari, who is very afflicted due to all her sons' demise?
- While so traversing the earth, he simply performed duties to please the Supreme Lord Hari. His occupation was pure and independent
- While speaking thus, Vidura, whose personal character was esteemed by respectable persons, was insulted by Duryodhana, who was swollen with anger and whose lips were trembling. Duryodhana was in company with Karna, his younger brothers and Sakuni
- While traveling on the surface of the earth, how did you (Vidura) maintain your livelihood? At which holy places and pilgrimage sites did you render service?
- While Uddhava, the chief and most confidential amongst the devotees of the Lord, was going away, Vidura, in affection and confidence, questioned him
- Why then should the living entity be subjected to so many sufferings and misfortunes? It should not be so, but actually we see that it happens everywhere. This question is therefore put forward by Vidura for solution
- With a desire to gain a high order of pious life, he traveled to holy places where thousands of transcendental forms of the Lord are situated
- With great delight they (all the inhabitants) all approached him (Vidura), as if life had returned to their bodies. They exchanged obeisances and welcomed each other with embraces
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- Yamaraja took birth in the womb of the kept wife of Vicitravirya (as Vidura) from the semen of Vicitravirya's brother, Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva is the son of Satyavati by the great King Santanu, the father of Bhismadeva
- Yet in spite of my knowing His desire (to destroy the dynasty), O Arindama (Vidura), I followed Him because it was impossible for me to bear separation from the lotus feet of the master
- You are also born in that family, and it is wonderful that because of your attempt the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are becoming newer and newer at every moment
- You have personally seen how the King of Cedi (Sisupala) achieved success in yoga practice, although he hated Lord Krsna
- Your good self is one of the eternal associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead for whose sake the Lord, while going back to His abode, left instructions with me