जनमेजय उवाच
कथं समभवद् द्यूतं भ्रातॄणां तन् महात्ययम् ॥
यत्र तद् व्यसनं प्राप्तं पाण्डवैर् मे पितामहैः ॥
के च तत्र सभास्तारा राजानो ब्रह्मवित्तम ॥
के चैनम् अन्वमोदन्त के चैनं प्रत्यषेधयन् ॥
विस्तरेणैतद् इच्छामि कथ्यमानं त्वया द्विज ॥
मूलं ह्य् एतद् विनाशस्य पृथिव्या द्विजसत्तम ॥
janamejaya uvāca
kathaṃ samabhavad dyūtaṃ bhrātṝṇāṃ tan mahātyayam ||
yatra tad vyasanaṃ prāptaṃ pāṇḍavair me pitāmahaiḥ ||
ke ca tatra sabhāstārā rājāno brahmavittama ||
ke cainam anvamodanta ke cainaṃ pratyaṣedhayan ||
vistareṇaitad icchāmi kathyamānaṃ tvayā dvija ||
mūlaṃ hy etad vināśasya pṛthivyā dvijasattama ||
"How did that ruinous game of the brothers come about, in which disaster befell the Pandavas, my grandfathers? And who were the members of the assembly there, the kings, O best knower of Brahman? Who approved of it, who opposed it? I wish to hear this told by you in full detail, O twice-born; for this is the root of the ruin of the earth."
c0bea04713af · प्रकाशित 16 जुल॰ 2026, 3:49:22 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Janamejaya calls the game 'the root of the ruin of the earth': a seemingly small event — a throw of the dice — turns out to be the knot of a world catastrophe. It is significant that he asks not only about what happened, but also about 'who approved, who opposed': what matters to him is the disposition of hearts, the division between those who abetted evil and those who resisted it. The verse teaches that everyone present takes part in great calamities — both the actors and the silent witnesses; history weighs not only the hand of the one who played, but also the voice of the one who kept silent. And the very naming of the game as 'the root of ruin' warns us: harm often enters the world through a door that looks like mere sport.