तद् अयं पाण्डुपुत्रेण व्यसने वर्तता भृशम् ॥
समाहूतेन कितवैर् आस्थितो द्रौपदीपणः ॥
साधारणी च सर्वेषां पाण्डवानाम् अनिन्दिता ॥
जितेन पूर्वं चानेन पाण्डवेन कृतः पणः ॥
इयं च कीर्तिता कृष्णा सौबलेन पणार्थिना ॥
एतत् सर्वं विचार्याहं मन्ये न विजिताम् इमाम् ॥
tad ayaṃ pāṇḍuputreṇa vyasane vartatā bhṛśam ||
samāhūtena kitavair āsthito draupadīpaṇaḥ ||
sādhāraṇī ca sarveṣāṃ pāṇḍavānām aninditā ||
jitena pūrvaṃ cānena pāṇḍavena kṛtaḥ paṇaḥ ||
iyaṃ ca kīrtitā kṛṣṇā saubalena paṇārthinā ||
etat sarvaṃ vicāryāhaṃ manye na vijitām imām ||
[Vikarna:] "Thus this son of Pandu, sunk excessively in the vice, summoned by the gamblers, staked Draupadi as the wager. Moreover, she is the common, blameless wife of all the Pandavas; and the Pandava made this wager only after having first lost himself. And it was the son of Subala who named her as the stake, eager for it. Having weighed all this, I hold her not won."
f58414c73c9c · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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Vikarna weaves three arguments into a single verdict: the darkened state of the one gambling, the wife's belonging in common and not to one alone, and — most importantly — that the one staking her no longer possessed himself, having already lost himself first. One who has lost himself has nothing left to stake: a slave has no authority over himself, nor over what is greater than himself. It is significant, too, that it was not Yudhishthira but Shakuni who named the stake — the wager was imposed, not offered. The verse teaches that an unlawful deed does not become lawful merely by being clothed in the appearance of law; and that true judgment penetrates past form to substance, where the deceit is laid bare.