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Mahabharata · 7.62.4–5
॥
Санджая
Devanāgarī
यदि हि त्वं पुरा द्यूतात् कुन्तीपुत्रं युधिष्ठिरम् ॥
निवर्तयेथाः पुत्रांश् च न त्वां व्यसनम् आव्रजेत् ॥
युद्धकाले पुनः प्राप्ते तदैव भवता यदि ॥
निवर्तिताः स्युः संरब्धा न त्वां व्यसनम् आव्रजेत् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yadi hi tvaṃ purā dyūtāt kuntīputraṃ yudhiṣṭhiram ||
nivartayethāḥ putrāṃś ca na tvāṃ vyasanam āvrajet ||
yuddhakāle punaḥ prāpte tadaiva bhavatā yadi ||
nivartitāḥ syuḥ saṃrabdhā na tvāṃ vyasanam āvrajet ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यदि हि त्वम् पुरा द्यूतात्yadi hi tvam purā dyūtātif you had, before, from the game; if you, of old, from the game
कुन्तीपुत्रम् युधिष्ठिरम्kuntīputram yudhiṣṭhiramthe son of Kunti, Yudhishthira; Kaunteya Yudhishthira
निवर्तयेथाः पुत्रान् चnivartayethāḥ putrān cahad turned back, and [your] sons; had turned back, and the sons
न त्वाम् व्यसनम् आव्रजेत्na tvām vyasanam āvrajetmisfortune would not have befallen you; misfortune would not have befallen you
युद्धकाले पुनः प्राप्तेyuddhakāle punaḥ prāptewhen the time of war had come again; when the time of war had come again
तदा एव भवता यदिtadā eva bhavatā yadithen, if by you; then, if by you
निवर्तिताः स्युः संरब्धाःnivartitāḥ syuḥ saṃrabdhāḥthe enraged ones had been turned back; the enraged ones had been restrained
न त्वाम् व्यसनम् आव्रजेत्na tvām vyasanam āvrajetmisfortune would not have befallen you; misfortune would not have befallen you
Translation
"If you had, before, turned back Yudhishthira, son of Kunti, from the game, and [your] sons as well — misfortune would not have befallen you. And when the time of war came again, if then you had restrained the enraged ones — misfortune would not have befallen you."
Version
b4d6c860c8c3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The refrain "na tvāṃ vyasanam āvrajet," "misfortune would not have befallen you," tolls like a funeral bell over missed chances. Sanjaya points to the exact forks in the road: stop the game, restrain the war. It is telling that Dhritarashtra had the power — what he lacked was the will. The verse teaches that misfortune is most often preventable in its hour, and the fault lies not in fate but in the indecision of one who held power: the repeated "if only" exposes not a lack of means but a lack of will to use them in time — and in this lies the root of many calamities.