Devanagari
अथोदीचीं दिशं यातु स्वैरज्ञातगतिर्भवान् ।
इतोऽर्वाक्प्रायश: काल: पुंसां गुणविकर्षण: ॥ २८ ॥
Verse text
athodīcīṁ diśaṁ yātu
svair ajṣāta-gatir bhavān
ito ’rvāk prāyaśaḥ kālaḥ
puṁsāṁ guṇa-vikarṣaṇaḥ
Synonyms
atha
—
therefore
;
udīcīm
—
northern side
;
diśam
—
direction
;
yātu
—
please go away
;
svaiḥ
—
by your relatives
;
ajṣāta
—
without knowledge
;
gatiḥ
—
movements
;
bhavān
—
of yourself
;
itaḥ
—
after this
;
arvāk
—
will usher in
;
prāyaśaḥ
—
generally
;
kālaḥ
—
time
;
puṁsām
—
of men
;
guṇa
—
qualities
;
vikarṣaṇaḥ
—
diminishing .
Translation
Please, therefore, leave for the North immediately, without letting your relatives know, for soon that time will approach which will diminish the good qualities of men.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Therefore, go to the north, somewhere unknown to your relatives. Then time, the destroyer of most of man’s qualities, will come.
Purport
One can compensate for a life of frustration by becoming a
dhīra,
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. A conditioned soul is already degraded by the material association, and still in the Kali-yuga the good qualities of a man will deteriorate to the lowest standard. He 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. To become
narottama,
or a first-class human being depending completely on the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is not possible for any ordinary man. It is stated in
Bhagavad-gītā
(7.28)
that a person who is completely relieved of all taints of sinful acts can alone depend on the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was advised by Vidura at least to become a
dhīra
in the beginning if it were impossible for him to become a
sannyāsī
or a
narottama.
Persistently endeavoring on the line of self-realization helps a person to rise to the conditions of a
narottama
from the stage of a
dhīra.
The
dhīra
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
dhīra
stage, which is the preparatory stage for
sannyāsa.
The
sannyāsa
stage is the preparatory stage of
paramahaṁsa,
or the first-grade devotee of the Lord.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
You have not become a narottama. Therefore become a dhīra. Arvāk kālaḥ means “time will come.” That time, the destroyer of man’s qualities like determination and mercy will come.