Shloka 17
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
शकुनिरुवाच माद्रीपुत्रौ प्रियौ राजंस्तवेमौ विजितौ मया । गरीयांसौ तु ते मन्ये भीमसेनधनंजयौ
śakunir uvāca mādrīputrau priyau rājan tavemau vijitau mayā | garīyāṃsau tu te manye bhīmasenadhanaṃjayau ||
Śakuni sprach: „O König! Diese beiden geliebten Söhne Mādrīs—deine Nakula und Sahadeva—habe ich bereits gewonnen. Doch Bhīmasena und Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna) gelten mir als von größerem Gewicht und höherer Ehre für dich; darum setzt du sie nicht als Pfand im Spiel.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unethical persuasion exploits attachment and pride: Śakuni frames Bhīma and Arjuna as Yudhiṣṭhira’s greatest ‘honor’ to provoke further staking, showing how adharma advances by manipulating values rather than by force.
During the dice match in the royal assembly, Śakuni announces that Nakula and Sahadeva have already been won and then taunts Yudhiṣṭhira by implying he is withholding the more ‘important’ brothers—Bhīma and Arjuna—thereby pressuring him to continue the ruinous game.