Shloka 7

सभा-पर्व (अध्याय ६०) — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः सभायाम् / Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly

Devanagari script

एतदू राजन्‌ मम धन प्रतिपाणो5स्ति कस्तव । येन मां त्वं महाराज धनेन प्रतिदीव्यसे

Transliteration

etad u rājān mama dhana pratipāṇo 'sti kas tava | yena māṁ tvaṁ mahārāja dhanena pratidīvyase ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O King, this indeed is the stake I set against your wealth. With what counter-stake, O great king, will you gamble against me with riches?”

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• उ: indeed/just (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उ

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• मम: of me / my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• धनम्: wealth
• धनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• प्रतिपाणः: counter-stake / matching wager
• प्रतिपाणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिपाण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अस्ति: is/exists
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular

• कः: who?/what (which person)?
• कः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तव: of you / your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• येन: by which/with which
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Accusative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• धनेन: with wealth / for a stake of wealth
• धनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रतिदीव्यसे: you play against / you wager in return
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + दिव् (दीव्यति)
• Form: Present, 2nd, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• King (addressed opponent in the dice-game)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension in wagering: a fair contest requires a legitimate counter-stake, yet the very framing of relationships and honor as “stakes” foreshadows how gambling can erode dharma by turning persons and duties into objects of exchange.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to the king he is playing against, stating what he is putting up as his stake and asking what the opponent will put forward as a matching counter-stake to gamble against him.