Shloka 14
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
वैशम्पायन उवाच एवमुकक््त्वा तु तानक्षाउ्छकुनि: प्रत्यदीव्यत । जितमित्येव शकुनिर्युधिष्ठिरमभाषत
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: evam uktvā tu tān akṣān Śakuniḥ pratyadīvyata | jitam ity eva Śakunir Yudhiṣṭhiram abhāṣata ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Janamejaya, nachdem Śakuni so gesprochen hatte, warf er die Würfel erneut und spielte weiter. Mit den Worten: ‘Ich habe gewonnen’, wandte er sich an Yudhiṣṭhira.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma can operate through the appearance of lawful procedure: Śakuni’s confident claim of victory in a rigged game shows that mere adherence to external rules (playing ‘by the dice’) is not the same as righteousness. It warns that ethical collapse can be accelerated when a person of dharma becomes bound by pride, habit, or social pressure to continue a harmful course.
After speaking, Śakuni throws the dice again and resumes the gambling. He immediately proclaims, “I have won,” and addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, signaling yet another loss for the Pāṇḍava king and pushing the match onward toward greater stakes and consequences.