Vyasa fathered Vidura through niyoga with Parishrami, a maidservant sent to him when both queens could not bear to face the sage again, and the son born of this union proved the wisest of Vyasa's three offspring despite his low birth barring him from the throne.
Vidura was the mortal incarnation of Yama, the god of death and dharma, cursed by the sage Mandavya to be born into a low-caste body. At death, Vidura transmitted his life essence into Yudhishthira through yogic power, reuniting with his divine self.
Bhishma and Vidura were the two voices of dharma in the Kuru court, both opposing the mistreatment of the Pandavas and the rigged dice game. While Bhishma was bound by his oath to the throne, Vidura openly sided with the Pandavas.
Vidura counseled Dhritarashtra with unflinching dharmic wisdom throughout the Mahabharata, urging him to check Duryodhana's ambition and deal justly with the Pandavas, only to be dismissed and finally banished from court for speaking truths the blind king refused to hear.
Vidura secretly warned Kunti and the Pandavas of Duryodhana's plot to burn them alive in the lac house at Varanavata, and arranged an escape tunnel that saved their lives.
Yudhishthira found the emaciated Vidura in the forest during his retirement, and as the old counselor fixed his gaze upon him and died, Vidura's life essence passed into Yudhishthira through yogic transference, reuniting the incarnation of Yama with the son of Dharma.
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