युधिष्ठिर उवाच
आहूतो न निवर्तेयम् इति मे व्रतम् आहितम् ॥
विधिश् च बलवान् राजन् दिष्टस्यास्मि वशे स्थितः ॥
अस्मिन् समागमे केन देवनं मे भविष्यति ॥
प्रतिपाणश् च को ऽन्यो ऽस्ति ततो द्यूतं प्रवर्तताम् ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
āhūto na nivarteyam iti me vratam āhitam ||
vidhiś ca balavān rājan diṣṭasyāsmi vaśe sthitaḥ ||
asmin samāgame kena devanaṃ me bhaviṣyati ||
pratipāṇaś ca ko 'nyo 'sti tato dyūtaṃ pravartatām ||
[Yudhishthira:] "Being challenged, I do not withdraw — such is my established vow; and fate is powerful, O king; I abide in the will of what is ordained. With whom in this assembly shall my game be? Who else is there as the counter-staker [opponent]? Then let the game begin."
c97f50844042 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:36 PM UTC
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Yudhishthira yields not to passion but to a vow: "being challenged, I do not withdraw." It is telling that he does not lie to himself that the game is safe — he directly acknowledges the power of fate and his own binding by his word. The verse teaches that faithfulness to a vow can be harder than breaking it: it would be easier to walk away, sheltering behind prudence, but honor does not permit it. And "I abide in the will of what is ordained" is not craven fatalism but humble acceptance of the outcome while remaining faithful to duty. The righteous man does not renounce his given word even before manifest disaster; he entrusts himself to what is higher while doing his own part. In this lies both his vulnerability and his greatness: dharma does not bargain with danger.