Mahabharata · 7.23.5–6
॥
Devanāgarī
युक्त एव हि भाग्येन ध्रुवम् उत्पद्यते नरः ॥
स तथाकृष्यते तेन न यथा स्वयम् इच्छति ॥
द्यूतव्यसनम् आसाद्य क्लेशितो हि युधिष्ठिरः ॥
स पुनर् भागधेयेन सहायान् उपलब्धवान् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yukta eva hi bhāgyena dhruvam utpadyate naraḥ ||
sa tathākṛṣyate tena na yathā svayam icchati ||
dyūtavyasanam āsādya kleśito hi yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
sa punar bhāgadheyena sahāyān upalabdhavān ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
युक्तःyuktaḥyoked [joined]; yoked
एवevaprecisely; [precisely]
हिhiindeed; indeed
भाग्येनbhāgyenawith a portion [with a lot]; [with his own] portion
ध्रुवम्dhruvamcertainly [surely]; inevitably
उत्पद्यतेutpadyateis born [comes into being]; is born
नरःnaraḥman [a person]; man
सःsaḥhe; he
तथाtathāthus [in this way]; thus [too]
आकृष्यतेākṛṣyateis drawn [is carried along]; is drawn
तेनtenaby it [by that portion]; by it
नnanot; not
यथाyathāas [in accordance with]; [in the way] that
स्वयम्svayamhimself; himself
इच्छतिicchatidesires [wants]; wants
द्यूतव्यसनम्dyūtavyasanamthe calamity of gambling [the ruin of dice]; the ruin of the game of dice
आसाद्यāsādyahaving encountered [having fallen into]; having fallen into
क्लेशितःkleśitaḥwas tormented [afflicted]; was tormented
हिhiindeed; indeed
युधिष्ठिरःyudhiṣṭhiraḥYudhishthira
सःsaḥhe; he
पुनःpunaḥagain [once more]; again
भागधेयेनbhāgadheyenaby the portion of fate [by the will of his lot]; by the will of his lot
सहायान्sahāyāncompanions [allies]; allies
उपलब्धवान्upalabdhavāngained [obtained]; gained
Translation
For man is inevitably born yoked to his own portion; and thus he is drawn by it, not as he himself wants. Having fallen into the ruin of the game of dice, Yudhishthira was tormented; yet he, by the will of his lot, again gained allies.
Version
74e3cf04e0d9 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The king carries the thought to its extreme: man is born with a portion and is drawn by it "not as he himself wants." In this lies a deep truth about how much in life lies outside human control. Yet the extreme is dangerous: if the will means nothing at all, then the wicked bear no guilt, and the righteous deserve no reward. It is telling that Dhritarashtra resorts to this thought in order to make peace with what he himself failed to prevent. The verse teaches that acknowledging fate's power must be balanced by an awareness of freedom and duty; that man is drawn by his portion, yet at every moment still chooses how to meet it; and that the epic, placing fatalism in the mouth of one who flees responsibility, subtly warns: not every resignation to fate is holy — some of it is merely flight from one's own guilt.