शकुनिर् उवाच
याम् एताम् उत्तमां लक्ष्मीं दृष्टवान् असि पाण्डवे ॥
तस्याः प्राप्ताव् उपायं मे शृणु सत्यपराक्रम ॥
अहम् अक्षेष्व् अभिज्ञातः पृथिव्याम् अपि भारत ॥
हृदयज्ञः पणज्ञश् च विशेषज्ञश् च देवने ॥
द्यूतप्रियश् च कौन्तेयो न च जानाति देवितुम् ॥
आहूतश् चैष्यति व्यक्तं दीव्यावेत्य् आह्वयस्व तम् ॥
śakunir uvāca
yām etām uttamāṃ lakṣmīṃ dṛṣṭavān asi pāṇḍave ||
tasyāḥ prāptāv upāyaṃ me śṛṇu satyaparākrama ||
aham akṣeṣv abhijñātaḥ pṛthivyām api bhārata ||
hṛdayajñaḥ paṇajñaś ca viśeṣajñaś ca devane ||
dyūtapriyaś ca kaunteyo na ca jānāti devitum ||
āhūtaś caiṣyati vyaktaṃ dīvyāvety āhvayasva tam ||
"Hear from me the means to obtain that supreme Lakshmi you have seen belonging to the Pandava, O truly-valiant one. I am expert in dice throughout the whole earth, O Bharata — a knower of hearts, a knower of stakes, and of the finer points of play. Kaunteya loves gambling but does not know how to play; summoned, he will surely come. So summon him: 'Let us play.'"
29181cfbcb94 · प्रकाशित 16 जुल॰ 2026, 3:49:22 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Shakuni names himself a "knower of hearts" — but this knowledge is turned toward ensnarement, not toward the good. It is telling that a gift without righteousness is the more dangerous the greater it is: the cardsharp's discernment serves deception. The verse teaches that a talent is not in itself a virtue — it is an instrument, and everything depends on the hand that wields it. Knowledge of human hearts could heal; in Shakuni it traps a victim. And the whole scheme rests upon Yudhishthira's own honor — on the fact that he, a kshatriya, will not refuse a challenge: the virtue of the honest man becomes bait for the dishonest. Thus does evil turn even talent and virtue into a snare; and more fearsome than the open villain is he who serves untruth with intellect and skill.