Shloka 56
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
पूर्वराचरितं यत् तत् कुराजभिररिंदम । अक्षद्यूतं मृगवध: कच्चिदेषां सुखावहम्
pūrvarācaritaṃ yat tat kurājabhir arindama | akṣadyūtaṃ mṛgavadhaḥ kaccid eṣāṃ sukhāvaham | śatrudamana śrīkṛṣṇa |
হে শত্রুদমন শ্রীকৃষ্ণ! প্রাচীন কালে দুষ্ট রাজারা যে পাশাখেলা ও শিকার-হত্যার প্রথা চালু করেছিল—তা কি এদের কারও জন্য কখনও সুখকর হয়েছে? (কখনও নয়।)
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Practices normalized by corrupt rulers—especially gambling and violent sport—do not yield true welfare; they breed harm and disorder, so dharma requires rejecting such ‘traditional’ vices even if they are long-established.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Śrī Kṛṣṇa, invoking him as a subduer of enemies, and rhetorically questions whether the old royal habits of dice-play and hunting have ever benefited anyone—implying that these customs have historically led to suffering rather than happiness.