Shloka 12

सभा-पर्व, अध्याय 56: विदुरस्य द्यूत-निन्दा

Vidura’s Censure of Dicing and Warning to the Kurus

Devanagari script

अनर्थमर्थ मन्यसे राजपुत्र संग्रन्थनं कलहस्याति घोरम्‌ । तद्‌ वै प्रवृत्तं तु यथा कथंचित्‌ सृजेदसीन्‌ निशितान्‌ सायकांश्ष

Transliteration

anartham arthaṁ manyase rājaputra saṁgranthanaṁ kalahasyāti ghoram | tad vai pravṛttaṁ tu yathā kathaṁcit sṛjed asīn niśitān sāyakāṁś ca |

Translation

Duryodhana said: “O prince, you take what is truly ruin to be a gain—this gambling, which knots together strife and is exceedingly dreadful. Once it has begun, even by some chance, it will give rise to sharpened swords and flights of arrows as well.”

Word by Word

• {'anartha': 'harm, calamity, misfortune

• that which is not beneficial', 'artha': 'gain, advantage

• also ‘purpose/wealth’ depending on context', 'manyase': 'you think, you suppose', 'rājaputra': 'king’s son

• prince', 'saṁgranthana': 'binding together, weaving, fastening

• here: ‘that which entangles/knits’', 'kalaha': 'quarrel, dispute, strife', 'ati-ghora': 'exceedingly terrible, very dreadful', 'tad vai': 'indeed that (very thing)', 'pravṛtta': 'set in motion, begun, commenced', 'yathā kathaṁcit': 'somehow, by any means, in some way or other', 'sṛjet': 'would produce, would generate, would bring forth', 'asī(n)': 'swords (accusative plural of asi)', 'niśita': 'sharpened, whetted', 'sāyaka': 'arrow, missile', 'ca': 'and'}

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• rājaputra (the addressed prince)
• dyūta (gambling, implied by context)
• asi (sword)
• sāyaka (arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns against mistaking destructive pleasures for real benefit: gambling is portrayed as a force that entangles people in quarrel and, once initiated, can escalate inexorably into violence and war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana addresses a prince and cautions that the gambling enterprise—once started—will not remain a mere game; it will bind the parties into escalating hostility, ultimately producing weapons and warfare.