Author Description

Ethics or Dharma is the essence of Sanathana Dharma or the India / Hindu civilization. "Purushartha" is the Sanskrit word for human purpose or pursuit during a lifetime. Purushartha is built on four pillars - Artha [physiological and security needs], Kama [social needs], and Moksha [spiritual needs] all built on a foundation of Dharma [ethical practices]. A meaningful and successful life is not just accumulation of power, wealth, knowledge or any other material success, but a life that is rich in experiences and helpful to others around you. Dharma in practice comes from both moral discipline [Yama] and right observances / practices [Niyama]. All Indic religions including Yoga, Vedanta [Advaitha, Dwaitha, Vishishta Advaitha, Bhedabeda, Shuddhadwaitha], Shaiva, Shakta, Ganapathya, Saurya, Skanda, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism and their related faiths accept and follow these tenets. The storyline of both the historical epics [or itihasa] - Ramayana and Mahabharata - is focused on Dharma. The stories either directly guide us of the right path or indicate the effect of taking the wrong path. Within this huge mass of literature, traditional scholars consider Vidura Niti as the handbook of ethics or Dharma. Vidura Niti is a small part of the fifth canto [Udyoga Parva] of Mahabharata. 8 sections comprising of 592 shloka / verses comprise the Vidura Niti. Every verse can be considered in isolation and a life lesson learnt from it. Every shloka / verse is a self-help reckoner. There are some translations available from western authors. They have translated the shlokas, but without understanding the civilizational / cultural nuances. Every shloka is better understood if they can be linked to other classical Vedic texts like Upanishads, Puranas and Smriti and to modern psychological and human behavior. In this translation, an effort is made to integrate the old and the new and provide a comprehensive view of the classic.