युधिष्ठिर उवाच
अधर्मं चरसे नूनं यो नावेक्षसि वै नयम् ॥
यो नः सुमनसां मूढ विभेदं कर्तुम् इच्छसि ॥
शकुनिर् उवाच
गर्ते मत्तः प्रपतति प्रमत्तः स्थाणुम् ऋच्छति ॥
ज्येष्ठो राजन् वरिष्ठो ऽसि नमस् ते भरतर्षभ ॥
स्वप्ने न तानि पश्यन्ति जाग्रतो वा युधिष्ठिर ॥
कितवा यानि दीव्यन्तः प्रलपन्त्य् उत्कटा इव ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
adharmaṃ carase nūnaṃ yo nāvekṣasi vai nayam ||
yo naḥ sumanasāṃ mūḍha vibhedaṃ kartum icchasi ||
śakunir uvāca
garte mattaḥ prapatati pramattaḥ sthāṇum ṛcchati ||
jyeṣṭho rājan variṣṭho 'si namas te bharatarṣabha ||
svapne na tāni paśyanti jāgrato vā yudhiṣṭhira ||
kitavā yāni dīvyantaḥ pralapanty utkaṭā iva ||
[Yudhishthira:] "Truly you practice adharma, you who pay no heed to sound policy, you fool who wish to sow discord among us who wish each other well. The drunk falls into a pit, the careless man stumbles against a stump; you deem yourself eldest and best, O king -- a bitter homage to you, O bull of the Bharatas. Neither in sleep nor waking, Yudhishthira, do men see what gamblers, as they play, babble like madmen."
3ec0c0686f62 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:37 PM UTC
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Even amid his fall, Yudhishthira still exposes the root of Shakuni's evil: "you wish to sow discord among us who wish each other well." It is telling that even the losing man perceives the design -- the enemy is not interested in the game itself, but in splitting the clan. The verse teaches that the aim of the wicked is not victory for its own sake, but the sowing of enmity: gold is merely the pretext, discord the goal. And the words about gamblers who "babble like madmen" lay bare the nature of gambling -- a kind of possession that darkens the mind. But it is bitter that, seeing the evil, Yudhishthira still does not leave the game, bound by his vow. To perceive the enemy's design and yet be unable to tear the net -- this is the tragedy of one bound by his word; and a warning to all: some vows, given without due thought, turn into chains.