The Sleepless Night

Sleep eludes Dhritrashtra

After having waited on tenterhooks for Sanjaya and the Pandavas’ reply, Dhritrashtra was extremely disturbed when Sanjaya announced that he would reveal the reply of the Pandavas in the court, the next day.

Dhritrashtra had to spend the night in dreadful anticipation. Tossing and turning, he tried to sleep, in vain. As he became more anxious, he sought the only solace he could think of... Vidura and his wisdom.

Sending word for Vidura, Dhritrashtra waited for him in his inner chambers.

Vidura ever ready to dutifully serve the king, hastened towards the palace and asked for permission to enter the inner chambers. Dhritrashtra chided him for having to ask for a brother’s permission to enter his room and expansively declared that Vidura faced no restriction and could move freely as he pleased.

Dhritrashtra then proceeded to tell Vidura about his sleeplessness and requested Vidura to engage him with his wit and wise words.

Those who cannot sleep

Promptly Vidura listed four types of people who cannot fall asleep. The first category of people being the weak ones who fear an attack by those more powerful than themselves. The second being those who have lost everything. The third category of people are those who are overcome with interest in sex. The fourth category are thieves who have to stay awake, to carry out their business.

“Which of these categories do you belong to?” asked Vidura. Not waiting for an answer, Vidura went on to describe a fifth category.

There are those who plan on usurping another’s wealth. “Is this the category you belong to?” asked Vidura, knowing the answer fully well.

Through the night, Vidura answered questions posed by Dhritrashtra, simultaneously advising him to follow the path of dharma and not to be swayed by his son, the evil Duryodhana.

Vidura Neethi

This night-long conversation of Vidura, covering a wide range of topics, came to be known as ‘Vidura Neethi’. These were the set of principles that were followed by the Pandavas during their reign.

Vidura began in an enigmatic manner.

“A king must have 1 to decide the 2.

This may be interpreted as:

The one quality that is of utmost importance for a king to possess is impartiality.

The two aspects that are to be weighed are right (dharma) and wrong (adharma).

With impartiality comes the power of discernment.

Thus, a king must have 1 to decide the 2.

To be continued...