युधिष्ठिर उवाच
एवम् आहायम् असितो देवलो मुनिसत्तमः ॥
इमानि लोकद्वाराणि यो वै संचरते सदा ॥
इदं वै देवनं पापं मायया कितवैः सह ॥
धर्मेण तु जयो युद्धे तत् परं साधु देवनम् ॥
नार्या म्लेच्छन्ति भाषाभिर् मायया न चरन्त्य् उत ॥
अजिह्मम् अशठं युद्धम् एतत् सत्पुरुषव्रतम् ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
evam āhāyam asito devalo munisattamaḥ ||
imāni lokadvārāṇi yo vai saṃcarate sadā ||
idaṃ vai devanaṃ pāpaṃ māyayā kitavaiḥ saha ||
dharmeṇa tu jayo yuddhe tat paraṃ sādhu devanam ||
nāryā mlecchanti bhāṣābhir māyayā na caranty uta ||
ajihmam aśaṭhaṃ yuddham etat satpuruṣavratam ||
[Yudhishthira:] "Thus spoke Asita Devala, the best of sages, who forever passes through these gates of the worlds: 'This game is sinful — [for it is played] by deceit, with cheating gamblers; but victory in battle by dharma — that is the best "game." The noble do not babble in barbarous tongues and do not act by deceit; a battle without guile, without treachery — such is the vow of good men.'"
804dbeaf71fb · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:36 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Yudhishthira sets against the game an honest battle: victory by dharma — that is the "best game." It is telling that even warfare, waged directly, without deceit, is more righteous than a deceitful game: the matter is not risk or violence, but the honesty of the means. The verse teaches that the measure of what is worthy is not the outcome but the straightness of the path to it: "a battle without guile, without treachery — the vow of the good." And the reference to Asita Devala shows that this is not a personal opinion but a law affirmed by the saints. The righteous man, even walking toward ruin, holds this law before him — not as a shield from misfortune, but as a light by which he will fall unstained. Better to lose honestly than to win dishonestly.