अथ पारशवीं कन्यां देवकस्य महीपतेः ॥
रूपयौवनसंपन्नां स शुश्रावापगासुतः ॥
ततस् तु वरयित्वा ताम् आनाय्य पुरुषर्षभः ॥
विवाहं कारयाम् आस विदुरस्य महामतेः ॥
तस्यां चोत्पादयाम् आस विदुरः कुरुनन्दनः ॥
पुत्रान् विनयसंपन्नान् आत्मनः सदृशान् गुणैः ॥
atha pāraśavīṃ kanyāṃ devakasya mahīpateḥ ||
rūpayauvanasaṃpannāṃ sa śuśrāvāpagāsutaḥ ||
tatas tu varayitvā tām ānāyya puruṣarṣabhaḥ ||
vivāhaṃ kārayām āsa vidurasya mahāmateḥ ||
tasyāṃ cotpādayām āsa viduraḥ kurunandanaḥ ||
putrān vinayasaṃpannān ātmanaḥ sadṛśān guṇaiḥ ||
"And now the son of the River (Bhishma) heard of the parashavi daughter (born of a shudra woman) of King Devaka, endowed with beauty and youth. Then, having sought her hand and brought her, the bull among men arranged the marriage of the wise Vidura; and by her Vidura, the joy of the Kurus, begot sons endowed with good breeding, resembling him in virtues."
2389d1b4b2b6 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
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Here Bhishma completes his arranging of marriages by marrying off Vidura as well. Telling is the match between bride and groom in origin: for Vidura, born of a maidservant, a wife is taken who is the daughter of a king "by a shudra woman" (parashavi) — a union of equals in birth, yet made without any diminishment, for Vidura's true nobility lies in his virtue. Here is both a concern that each should find a fitting spouse, and a confirmation that Vidura's worth is beyond question: Bhishma himself attends to his line of descent on a par with the king's own sons. It is telling that Vidura's sons are "like him in virtues" and "endowed with good breeding" (vinaya): a righteous father, unlike the blind Dhritarashtra, begets worthy children — for with him both conception and upbringing rest in dharma. Thus the scripture quietly sets the offspring of the righteous Vidura against the unrighteous offspring to come of the blind king, once again reminding us: as the parents are in virtue, so for the most part are the children.