Дхритараштра
न ह्य् अहं द्यूतम् इच्छामि विदुरो न प्रशंसति ॥
सैन्धवो नेच्छते द्यूतं भीष्मो न द्यूतम् इच्छति ॥
शल्यो भूरिश्रवाश् चैव पुरुमित्रो जयस् तथा ॥
अश्वत्थामा कृपो द्रोणो द्यूतं नेच्छन्ति संजय ॥
एतेषां मतम् आज्ञाय यदि वर्तेत पुत्रकः ॥
सज्ञातिमित्रः ससुहृच् चिरं जीवेद् अनामयः ॥
na hy ahaṃ dyūtam icchāmi viduro na praśaṃsati ||
saindhavo necchate dyūtaṃ bhīṣmo na dyūtam icchati ||
śalyo bhūriśravāś caiva purumitro jayas tathā ||
aśvatthāmā kṛpo droṇo dyūtaṃ necchanti saṃjaya ||
eteṣāṃ matam ājñāya yadi varteta putrakaḥ ||
sajñātimitraḥ sasuhṛc ciraṃ jīved anāmayaḥ ||
"For I do not desire the game of dice; Vidura does not approve, the man of Sindh does not desire the game, Bhishma does not desire the game; Shalya, Bhurishravas, Purumitra, Jaya, Ashvatthaman, Kripa, Drona do not desire the game, O Sanjaya. Had my son acted upon learning their opinion, he would have lived long, unharmed, with his kin, friends and companions."
326528ae967c · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Dhritarashtra names all who rejected the dice game — Vidura, Bhishma, Drona, and many more — to set off the madness of the son who defied them all. But there is a bitter undertone in "na hi aham dyūtam icchāmi", "and I too did not desire the game": it was he who allowed it, even while "not desiring" it. This self-justification, bordering on self-indictment, is telling. The verse teaches that it is not enough to "not desire" evil in one's heart: whoever, seeing the unanimous warning of the wise, still failed to use his power to prevent the evil, is a partner in it; passive disagreement without action does not remove the guilt.