Vidura

Quick Facts

About Vidura

The son of Vyasa and a maid. The incarnation of the God of Dharma. He was the wisest counselor in the Kuru court.

In Their Words

For him, dharma was the supreme goal.

Vidura

Traits

• Wise
• Righteous
• Incarnation of Dharma

Stories Featuring Vidura

107 tales on this site name Vidura, in canonical reading order.

• Ancient BeginningsThe Earth's Plea, the Descent of the Gods, and the Sages Who Began the TellingAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Epic ComposedVyasa at Badarikashrama, Astika at the Snake Sacrifice, and the Story First ToldAdi Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Niyoga of VyasaThe Birth of the KurusAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sage on the StakeAni-Mandavya and the Birth of ViduraAdi Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Birth of the PrincesChildren of the Gods and the Iron WombAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Curse That Killed a KingPandu's Arrow, Kindama's Curse, and the Birth of the PandavasAdi Parva ‧ 23 min
• A Royal Childhood at HastinapuraPandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of DronaAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• Escape from the FlamesThe lac house episode teaches that evil, no matter how carefully planned, cannot triumph over righteousness...Adi Parva ‧ 18 min
• The House of Lac and the DemonsThe Pandavas' First ExileAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to HastinapuraAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Twins in the HeathIndra's dancer, a sage's dropped bow, and the children a king carried homeAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• Kunti Knows Her SonThe mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silentAdi Parva ‧ 14 min
• Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's courtAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen booksAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• Pandu's ConquestThe pale king who filled the treasuryAdi Parva
• The Birth of DuryodhanaA doom announced and ignoredAdi Parva
• Half a KingdomOne sitting of the Kuru court decides everythingAdi Parva
• The Five Who Burned InsteadThe bodies the searchers were meant to findAdi Parva
• The Dice GameThe Game That Changed EverythingSabha Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Fateful GameAddiction blinds even the wisest of men. Yudhishthira, known for his righteousness, lost everything - his wealth, his...Sabha Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Infinite SariIn our darkest hour, when all worldly help fails, surrender to the Divine is our last and most powerful refuge...Sabha Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Fall of DharmaThe Fall of Dharma teaches the most terrifying lesson of the Mahabharata: that evil does not triumph through its own...Sabha Parva ‧ 24 min
• What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it startedSabha Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Honey-Gatherer on the CliffVidura's last warnings, and the answer he gotSabha Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Second ThrowOne cast of the dice for thirteen yearsSabha Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Road Out of HastinapuraWhat Vidura read in the way they walkedSabha Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Errand Vidura Did Not WantCarrying the invitation to the dice game he had begged the king not to sendSabha Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Kingdom Given BackDhritarashtra releases the Pandavas and returns everything they lostSabha Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hallSabha Parva ‧ 23 min
• Thirteen Years of FireThe exile teaches that suffering, accepted with dignity and used as a forge, transforms weakness into strength. The...Vana Parva ‧ 27 min
• The Ones Who Would Not Turn BackThe city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weepingVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Cow Who Wept for the Weaker CalfIndra learns why a mother's love is not divided equallyVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Curse on Duryodhana's ThighA sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched footVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• When Forgiveness Is Not a VirtueAn angry queen quotes an asura grandfather at a patient kingVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Blind King Counts the OddsA father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it wasVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden himVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Rakshasa at the Gate of KamyakaThe first night of the twelve yearsVana Parva
• The Counselor Sent AwayThrown out of the court, and back the same weekVana Parva
• What Dhaumya Told Them About KingsThe rules for living inside another man's palaceVirata Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Quarrel Before the CattleAshwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made ofVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Day Karna RanThe boast in the dice hall, answered at lastVirata Parva ‧ 16 min
• Vidura NitiThe Sleepless KingUdyoga Parva ‧ 6 min
• The SanatsujatiyaThere Is No DeathUdyoga Parva ‧ 5 min
• The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in HastinapuraUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Eve of BattleLast Embassies Before KurukshetraUdyoga Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Choice at DwarakaTen crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the otherUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Net and the Mountain HoneyTwo birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down fromUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Braid She Refused to BindDraupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hairUdyoga Parva ‧ 20 min
• What Kunti Sent Instead of ComfortA mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fightUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Meal He Chose to EatA king's banquet refused, a servant's supper acceptedUdyoga Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himselfUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will dieUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The March to KurukshetraDuryodhana walks out on the last counsel and orders the host to move that same dayUdyoga Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Cat Who Played the HermitDuryodhana's last message to Yudhishthira is a fable about a holy man who ate his worshippersUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Kings Who Were Passed OverDhritarashtra reads his son the family's own record of elder sons who never got the throneUdyoga Parva ‧ 13 min
• Prahlada's JudgmentWithin Vidura's night counsel, an asura king rules the truth against his own sonUdyoga Parva
• Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and againBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology insteadBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for himBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Pillow of ArrowsBoth armies lay down their weapons for one eveningBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• Karna at the Grandsire's FeetThe forgiveness that came too late to change anythingBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.Bhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his kneeBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest DaySunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at NightfallDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The King Counts His ArmyEvery soldier paid, examined and willing, and still losingDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insultsDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Arrows He Did Not Want to ShootArjuna, Kripa, and a lesson in arms turned back on its teacherDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it isDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• A Thousand Lamps Around KarnaYudhishthira rises from his bed to look at his enemyKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• Where the Carnage Did Not CeaseArjuna counts every point at which the war should have stoppedShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Errand Before the GriefKrishna drives to Hastinapura to reach a mother before her curse doesShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Seventeen HundredShalya's followers charge against orders, and Duryodhana's army breaks twice before he turns it roundShalya Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Flight of the Royal LadiesThe last of the eleven armies dies, Duryodhana walks into a lake, and the Kaurava camp runs for HastinapuraShalya Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Plunder of the Kaurava CampThe victors ride into Duryodhana's empty tents, and Arjuna's chariot turns to ashShalya Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Owl in the Banyan TreeWhat three beaten men argued about in the darkSauptika Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Aftermath of WarThe Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on KrishnaStri Parva ‧ 25 min
• The Lament of the WomenStri Parva - The Field of WidowsStri Parva
• The Man in the WellVidura's Parable of the SoulStri Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Queen Asks Her QuestionsGandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the wayStri Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Queens Who Came a Long WayWhat the Kuru quarrel cost the kingdoms that were only alliesStri Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had goneStri Parva ‧ 16 min
• Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of KurukshetraStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armiesStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Secret of the GodsVyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was bornStri Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Burning Ghats of KurukshetraThe rites that closed the warStri Parva
• Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His FeetShanti Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not saveShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• What the Brothers Wanted MostAn evening argument about virtue, wealth and desireShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Gods and the SalavrikasVyasa answers Yudhishthira's guilt with the war heaven fought for thirty-two thousand yearsShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Marks of a True FriendBhishma lists the men a king may bind himself to, and the men he must keep at a distanceShanti Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets goAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses itAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go homeAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Forest RetreatBook 15 - How the Blind King Walked Into the Woods to DieAshramavasika Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Wordy DartsFifteen Years of Bhima's UnforgivenessAshramavasika Parva ‧ 19 min
• The King Asks Leave of His PeopleAn Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined ItAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Gift SacrificeTen Days of Giving for the Enemy DeadAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• Satayupa and the Forest KingsNarada Names the Rulers Who Chose the WoodsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Court Comes to the ForestAn Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old AsceticsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Vyasa Brings Back ParikshitA Son Bathes His Dead Father at the Snake SacrificeAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• Kunti's Last FireRenunciation after the victoryAshramavasika Parva
• Vidura, Dharma in a Servant's HouseThe clean conscience of HastinapuraAshramavasika Parva
• The Great DepartureKrishna's Death, the End of the Yadavas, and the Pandavas' Climb to HeavenMahaprasthanika Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Vidura's Story

Drawn from the stories Vidura appears in.

• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ
• Varnavataवारणावत
• Gangaगङ्गा
• Gandharaगान्धार
• Mount Shatashringaशतशृङ्ग
• Salmali Forestसाल्मली वन
• Mahendra Parvataमहेन्द्र पर्वत
• Lakshagriha (Varnavata)लाक्षागृह
• Ekachakraएकचक्र
• Kampilyaकाम्पिल्य
• Dwarakaद्वारका

Related Characters

Others counted among the Kuru Dynasty.

• ✦Pritha (Kunti)
• ✦King Dushyanta
• ✦Shakuntala
• ✦Emperor Bharata (Sarvadamana)
• ⚔︎Bhishma
• ∵Drona