वासुदेव उवाच
नेदं कृच्छ्रम् अनुप्राप्तो भवान् स्याद् वसुधाधिप ॥
यद्य् अहं द्वारकायां स्यां राजन् संनिहितः पुरा ॥
आगच्छेयम् अहं द्यूतम् अनाहूतो ऽपि कौरवैः ॥
आम्बिकेयेन दुर्धर्ष राज्ञा दुर्योधनेन च ॥
वारयेयम् अहं द्यूतं बहून् दोषान् प्रदर्शयन् ॥
भीष्मद्रोणौ समानाय्य कृपं बाह्लीकम् एव च ॥
वैचित्रवीर्यं राजानम् अलं द्यूतेन कौरव ॥
पुत्राणां तव राजेन्द्र त्वन्निमित्तम् इति प्रभो ॥
तत्र वक्ष्याम्य् अहं दोषान् यैर् भवान् अवरोपितः ॥
वीरसेनसुतो यैश् च राज्यात् प्रभ्रंशितः पुरा ॥
अभक्षितविनाशं च देवनेन विशां पते ॥
सातत्यं च प्रसङ्गस्य वर्णयेयं यथातथम् ॥
स्त्रियो ऽक्षा मृगया पानम् एतत् कामसमुत्थितम् ॥
व्यसनं चतुष्टयं प्रोक्तं यै राजन् भ्रश्यते श्रियः ॥
तत्र सर्वत्र वक्तव्यं मन्यन्ते शास्त्रकोविदाः ॥
विशेषतश् च वक्तव्यं द्यूते पश्यन्ति तद्विदः ॥
vāsudeva uvāca
nedaṃ kṛcchram anuprāpto bhavān syād vasudhādhipa ||
yady ahaṃ dvārakāyāṃ syāṃ rājan saṃnihitaḥ purā ||
āgaccheyam ahaṃ dyūtam anāhūto 'pi kauravaiḥ ||
āmbikeyena durdharṣa rājñā duryodhanena ca ||
vārayeyam ahaṃ dyūtaṃ bahūn doṣān pradarśayan ||
bhīṣmadroṇau samānāyya kṛpaṃ bāhlīkam eva ca ||
vaicitravīryaṃ rājānam alaṃ dyūtena kaurava ||
putrāṇāṃ tava rājendra tvannimittam iti prabho ||
tatra vakṣyāmy ahaṃ doṣān yair bhavān avaropitaḥ ||
vīrasenasuto yaiś ca rājyāt prabhraṃśitaḥ purā ||
abhakṣitavināśaṃ ca devanena viśāṃ pate ||
sātatyaṃ ca prasaṅgasya varṇayeyaṃ yathātatham ||
striyo 'kṣā mṛgayā pānam etat kāmasamutthitam ||
vyasanaṃ catuṣṭayaṃ proktaṃ yai rājan bhraśyate śriyaḥ ||
tatra sarvatra vaktavyaṃ manyante śāstrakovidāḥ ||
viśeṣataś ca vaktavyaṃ dyūte paśyanti tadvidaḥ ||
Vasudeva said: "O lord of the earth, you would not have come to this misfortune, had I before been near, in Dvaraka. I would have come to the game even uninvited by the Kauravas, by Ambika's son and Duryodhana, and stopped it, pointing out its many faults. I would have gathered Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, and Bahlika, and said to the king, the son of Vichitravirya: 'Enough of gambling, O Kaurava, for the sake of your sons and for your own sake.' I would have explained the faults by which you have been brought low, and by which the son of Virasena once lost his kingdom: the ruin of wealth that brings no benefit, and the persistence of a ruinous attachment. Women, dice, hunting, and drink are the four vices born of desire, by which a king falls from glory. Knowers of the shastras hold that one should speak of all this, but especially of gambling."
83f9cd8bd153 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:44:34 PM UTC
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Krishna does not absolve Yudhishthira of responsibility, but he says plainly: the presence of truth at the right moment could have averted disaster. Gambling is shown here not as amusement but as an addiction that destroys royal dignity, wealth, and the capacity to discern.