Mahabharata · 2.67.3–4
॥
Devanāgarī
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
धातुर् नियोगाद् भूतानि प्राप्नुवन्ति शुभाशुभम् ॥
न निवृत्तिस् तयोर् अस्ति देवितव्यं पुनर् यदि ॥
अक्षद्यूते समाह्वानं नियोगात् स्थविरस्य च ॥
जानन्न् अपि क्षयकरं नातिक्रमितुम् उत्सहे ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
dhātur niyogād bhūtāni prāpnuvanti śubhāśubham ||
na nivṛttis tayor asti devitavyaṃ punar yadi ||
akṣadyūte samāhvānaṃ niyogāt sthavirasya ca ||
jānann api kṣayakaraṃ nātikramitum utsahe ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
धातुर् नियोगाद् भूतानि प्राप्नुवन्ति शुभ-अशुभम्dhātur niyogād bhūtāni prāpnuvanti śubha-aśubham"by the ordinance of the Creator, beings obtain good and evil;
न निवृत्तिस् तयोर् अस्ति देवितव्यं पुनर् यदिna nivṛttis tayor asti devitavyaṃ punar yadithere is no escaping these two, if one must play again;
अक्ष-द्यूते समाह्वानं नियोगात् स्थविरस्य चakṣa-dyūte samāhvānaṃ niyogāt sthavirasya caa summons to the game of dice — and at the command of an elder —
जानन्न् अपि क्षय-करं न अतिक्रमितुम् उत्सहेjānann api kṣaya-karaṃ na atikramitum utsahethough knowing [it is] ruinous, I dare not transgress."
युधिष्ठिरyudhiṣṭhiraoriginal form "yudhiṣṭhira", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
शुभाशुभम्śubhāśubhamoriginal form "śubhāśubham", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अक्षद्यूतेakṣadyūteoriginal form "akṣadyūte", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
क्षयकरंkṣayakaraṃoriginal form "kṣayakaraṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
नातिक्रमितुम्nātikramitumoriginal form "nātikramitum", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
[Yudhiṣṭhira:] "By the ordinance of the Creator, beings obtain good and evil; there is no escaping these two, if one must play again. A summons to the game of dice — and at the command of an elder — though I know it is ruinous, I dare not transgress."
Version
3b2b6a15b8d2 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Yudhiṣṭhira walks toward ruin with his eyes open — "knowing that it is destructive." This is not recklessness but captivity to two bonds: faith in the irrevocability of what is ordained, and reverence for an elder, which for him outweighs self-preservation. Here both his greatness and his vulnerability are laid bare: his devotion to duty is so pure that it does not distinguish true duty from duty turned by an enemy into a trap. The verse teaches that even lofty virtue needs discernment: reverence for an elder is sacred but not unconditional, for there is no command to lawlessness; that surrendering oneself to fate does not release one from the duty to resist manifest evil; and that the noblest fidelity, stripped of judgment, becomes a tool in another's hands.