Shloka 8
युधिष्ठिरस्य द्यूते द्रव्यवर्णनम्
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Enumeration of Stakes in the Dice Match
तात! दूसरेके धनकी स्पृहा रखना नीच पुरुषोंका काम है। जो भलीभाँति अपने धनसे संतुष्ट तथा अपने धर्ममें ही स्थित है, वही सुखपूर्वक उन्नतिशील होता है। दूसरेके धनको हड़पनेकी कोई चेष्टा न करना, अपने कर्तव्यको पूरा करनेके लिये सदा प्रयत्नशील रहना और अपनेको जो कुछ प्राप्त है, उसकी रक्षा करना--यही उत्तम वैभवका लक्षण है ।। विपत्तिष्वव्यथो दक्षो नित्यमुत्थानवान् नर: । अप्रमत्तो विनीतात्मा नित्यं भद्राणि पश्यति,जो विपत्तिमें व्यथित नहीं होता, सदा उद्योगशील बना रहता है, जिसमें प्रमादका अभाव है तथा जिसके हृदयमें विनयरूप सद्गुण है, वह चतुर मनुष्य सदा कल्याण ही देखता है
tāta! dūṣareke dhanasya spṛhā rakhanā nīca-puruṣāṇāṃ kāryam asti. yaḥ suṣṭhu sva-dhanena saṃtuṣṭaḥ sva-dharme eva sthitaś ca, sa eva sukha-pūrvakam unnati-śīlo bhavati. dūṣarasya dhanaṃ hartum kaścid api prayatno na kartavyaḥ; sva-kartavya-paripūraṇāya sadā prayatnaśīlo bhavitavyam; yad yat prāptaṃ tasya rakṣaṇaṃ kartavyam—etad eva uttama-vaibhavasya lakṣaṇam. vipaṭtiṣu avyatho dakṣo nityam utthānavān naraḥ; apramatto vinītātmā nityaṃ bhadrāṇi paśyati.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “My son, craving another man’s wealth is the work of base-minded people. The one who is truly content with his own means and remains established in his own dharma advances steadily and happily. Do not even attempt to seize what belongs to others; strive constantly to fulfill your own duties; and protect what has come to you—these are the marks of genuine prosperity. A capable man who is not shaken in adversity, who remains ever industrious, who is free from negligence, and whose inner nature is disciplined and humble, continually encounters what is auspicious.”
घतरयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
True prosperity is ethical: be content with your own resources, stay rooted in your own dharma, avoid coveting or seizing others’ wealth, diligently perform your duties, and protect what you have. Such vigilance, humility, and steadiness in adversity lead to auspicious outcomes.
In the Sabha Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses his son (implicitly Duryodhana) with moral counsel, warning against greed for others’ wealth and urging disciplined effort and composure—an ethical admonition set against the growing tensions around power and possessions.