Shloka 56
Rājasūyābhiṣeka-darśana: Duryodhana’s Observation of the Consecration
अशुभं वा शुभं वापि हित॑ वा यदि वाहितम् | प्रवर्ततां सुहृद्द्यूतं दिष्टमेतन्न संशय:,अशुभ हो या शुभ, हितकर हो या अहितकर, सुहृदोंमें यह द्यूतक्रीड़ा प्रारम्भ होनी ही चाहिये। नि:संदेह यह भाग्यसे ही प्राप्त हुई है
aśubhaṃ vā śubhaṃ vāpi hitaṃ vā yadi vāhitam | pravartatāṃ suhṛd-dyūtaṃ diṣṭam etan na saṃśayaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Whether it proves inauspicious or auspicious, beneficial or harmful, let this game of dice among kinsmen proceed. Without doubt, this has come about by destiny.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral failure: Dhṛtarāṣṭra frames a risky, ethically dubious act (a dice match among relatives) as something to be allowed regardless of consequences, justifying it as ‘destiny.’ It illustrates how appealing to fate can become an excuse for avoiding responsibility and discernment (dharma-vicāra).
Dhṛtarāṣṭra gives consent for the dice game to begin among the Kuru relatives. Even while acknowledging that the outcome may be good or bad, beneficial or harmful, he permits it and declares it to be fate-ordained—setting the stage for the unfolding injustice and rupture within the family.