Devanagari
तं तु तेऽवनतं दीनं किं करोमीति वादिनम् ।
निषीदेत्यब्रुवंस्तात स निषादस्ततोऽभवत् ॥ ४५ ॥
Verse text
taṁ tu te ’vanataṁ dīnaṁ
kiṁ karomīti vādinam
niṣīdety abruvaṁs tāta
sa niṣādas tato ’bhavat
Synonyms
tam
—
unto him
;
tu
—
then
;
te
—
the sages
;
avanatam
—
bowed down
;
dīnam
—
meek
;
kim
—
what
;
karomi
—
shall I do
;
iti
—
thus
;
vādinam
—
inquiring
;
niṣīda
—
just sit down
;
iti
—
thus
;
abruvan
—
they replied
;
tāta
—
my dear Vidura
;
saḥ
—
he
;
niṣādaḥ
—
of the name Niṣāda
;
tataḥ
—
thereafter
;
abhavat
—
became .
Translation
He was very submissive and meek, and immediately after his birth he bowed down and inquired, “Sirs, what shall I do?” The great sages replied, “Please sit down [niṣīda].” Thus Niṣāda, the father of the Naiṣāda race, was born.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When, bowing down humbly, he said “What shall I do?” the sages said “Sit (niṣīda).” Therefore he became the Niṣāda tribe.
Since he was tribal in nature, he was not suitable to be the King.
Purport
It is said in the
śāstras
that the head of the body represents the
brāhmaṇas,
the arms represent the
kṣatriyas,
the abdomen represents the
vaiśyas,
and the legs, beginning with the thighs, represent the
śūdras.
The
śūdras
are sometimes called black, or
kṛṣṇa.
The
brāhmaṇas
are called
śukla,
or white, and the
kṣatriyas
and the
vaiśyas
are a mixture of black and white. However, those who are extraordinarily white are said to have skin produced out of white leprosy. It may be concluded that white or a golden hue is the color of the higher caste, and black is the complexion of the
śūdras.