Shloka 14

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिर उवाच महाभया: कितवा: संनिविष्टा मायोपधा देवितारोअत्र सन्ति । धात्रा तु दिष्टस्य वशे किलेदं सर्व जगत्‌ तिष्ठति न स्वतन्त्रम्‌,युधिष्ठिर बोले--तब तो वहाँ बड़े भयंकर, कपटी और धूर्त जुआरी जुटे हुए हैं। विधाताका रचा हुआ यह सम्पूर्ण जगत्‌ दैवके ही अधीन है; स्वतन्त्र नहीं है

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—mahābhayāḥ kitavāḥ sanniviṣṭā māyopadhā devitāro ’tra santi | dhātrā tu diṣṭasya vaśe kiledaṃ sarvaṃ jagat tiṣṭhati na svatantram ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Then indeed, terrifying gamblers—deceitful and full of trickery—are gathered there. For this entire world stands under the sway of what the Creator has ordained; it is not independent.”

Word by Word

• {'mahābhayāḥ': 'very dreadful

• causing great fear', 'kitavāḥ': 'gamblers

• dice-players (often with the sense of rogues)', 'sanniviṣṭāḥ': 'seated/assembled

• gathered together', 'māyā-upadhāḥ': 'having deception as a pretext

• employing tricks and fraud', 'devitāraḥ': 'players at dice

• gamblers', 'atra': 'here

• in this place', 'dhātrā': 'by Dhātṛ (the Creator/Ordainer)', 'diṣṭasya': 'of what is ordained/fated

• of destiny', 'vaśe': 'under the control

• in the power', 'kila': 'indeed

• as is said (emphatic particle)', 'idam': 'this', 'sarvam jagat': 'the whole world', 'tiṣṭhati': 'stands

• is sustained', 'na svatantram': 'not independent

Speaker

युधिष्ठिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhātṛ (the Creator/Ordainer)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts human deceit (the gamblers’ trickery) with a broader reflection on destiny: worldly events unfold under an ordained order (diṣṭa) rather than pure personal autonomy, urging ethical caution and humility in judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira reacts to the presence of dangerous, deceitful dice-players and recognizes that the unfolding situation is driven not merely by individual choice but also by a larger force of fate/ordination—foreshadowing the peril of the dice match.