Shloka 386

Rājasūyābhiṣeka-darśana: Duryodhana’s Observation of the Consecration

Devanagari script

भारत! मैं इस भूमण्डलमें द्यूतविद्याका विशेष जानकार हूँ, द्यूतक्रीड़ाका मर्म जानता हूँ; दाव लगानेका भी मुझे ज्ञान है तथा पासे फेंकनेकी कलाका भी मैं विशेषज्ञ हूँ ।।

Transliteration

duryodhana uvāca | dyūtapriyaś ca kaunteyo na ca jānāti devitum |

Translation

Duryodhana sagte: „O Bhārata! Auf dieser Erde bin ich ein besonderer Kenner der Würfelkunst: Ich kenne das Wesen des Spiels, verstehe das Setzen und bin ein Meister im Werfen der Würfel. Der Sohn der Kuntī, Yudhiṣṭhira, liebt das Glücksspiel, doch er versteht es nicht zu spielen.“ Im Zusammenhang macht Duryodhana aus dieser Schwäche — Yudhiṣṭhiras Hang zum Würfelspiel — eine berechnete Waffe, um ihn zu fangen und das dharma durch einen scheinbar „rechtmäßigen“ Wettstreit zu untergraben.

Word by Word

• {'dyūta': 'gambling

• dice-game', 'dyūtapriyaḥ': 'fond of gambling', 'Kaunteyaḥ': 'son of Kuntī

• epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira (also applicable to the Pāṇḍavas generally)', 'na': 'not', 'ca': 'and', 'jānāti': 'knows

• understands', 'devitum': 'to gamble

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Yudhiṣṭhira (Kaunteya, son of Kuntī)
• Kuntī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A personal weakness, when indulged, becomes an entry-point for unethical manipulation. The verse highlights how adharma often advances not by open force but by exploiting a vulnerable inclination under the cover of social or legal forms (a ‘game’ in the royal assembly).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the royal assembly setting, Duryodhana expresses confidence that Yudhiṣṭhira’s fondness for gambling exceeds his skill, implying that Yudhiṣṭhira can be drawn into a dice match and defeated—setting the stage for the catastrophic gambling episode.