Shloka 27

Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)

Devanagari script

द्यूतप्रियेण राजेन्द्र तथा तद्‌ भवता कृतम्‌ | प्रायेणाज्ञातचर्यायां वयं सर्वे निपातिता:,'राजेन्द्र! जूएके खेलमें आसक्त होकर आपने ऐसा अनर्थ कर डाला कि प्राय: हम सब लोगोंको अज्ञातवासके संकटमें लाकर पटक दिया

Transliteration

dyūtapriyeṇa rājendra tathā tad bhavatā kṛtam | prāyeṇājñātacaryāyāṃ vayaṃ sarve nipātitāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Bester der Könige, weil du dem Würfelspiel zugetan warst, hast du so gehandelt. Dadurch hast du uns fast alle in die gefährliche Lage gestürzt, verborgen und unerkannt leben zu müssen.“

Word by Word

द्यूतप्रियेणby (one) fond of gambling

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

तथाthus, so

तत्that (deed)

भवताby you

कृतम्done, committed

प्रायेणfor the most part, almost

अज्ञातचर्यायाम्in the (state of) living incognito

वयम्we

सर्वेall

निपातिताःcast down, thrown into

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Rājendra (addressed king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

Dyūta (dice-gambling)

Ajñātacaryā (incognito exile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Attachment to gambling (a loss of self-mastery) leads to ethical and practical ruin, endangering not only the individual but also dependents and companions; a king’s personal vice becomes a collective calamity.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker rebukes the king for his fondness for dice, stating that the deed has effectively pushed them all toward the dangerous requirement of living incognito—an allusion to the Pandavas’ exile conditions following the gambling loss.