Shloka 18
Adhyāya 59: Vidura’s Admonition to Duryodhana after the Summons of Draupadī (सभा पर्व)
इसी प्रकार आप यदि मेरे पास आकर यह मानते हैं कि आपके साथ शठता की जायगी एवं यदि आपको भय मालूम होता है तो इस जूएके खेलसे निवृत्त हो जाइये ।। युधिछिर उवाच आहूतो न निवर्तेयमिति मे व्रतमाहितम् । विधिश्व॒ बलवान् राजन् दिष्टस्यास्मि वशे स्थित:,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--राजन्! मैं बुलानेपर पीछे नहीं हटता, यह मेरा निश्चित व्रत है। दैव बलवान है। मैं दैवके वशमें हूँ
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: āhūto na nivarteyam iti me vratam āhitam | vidhis tu balavān rājan diṣṭasyāsmi vaśe sthitaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O King, it is my settled vow that, once invited, I do not withdraw. Fate is powerful; I stand under the sway of what has been ordained.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal dharma expressed as a vow (not withdrawing once summoned) and the perceived force of destiny. Yudhiṣṭhira frames his continued participation as adherence to a self-binding ethical rule, while also acknowledging the overpowering pull of what is ‘ordained’ (vidhi/diṣṭa).
In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira is being pressed to continue the game. He responds that, having been invited, he will not retreat because it is his established vow; he further says that fate is strong and he stands under its control—foreshadowing the disastrous consequences of the match.