Shloka 25
सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! यह सुनकर छलका आश्रय लेनेवाले शकुनिने पुनः अपनी ही जीतका निश्चय करके युधिष्ठिरसे कहा--“यह दाँव भी मैंने ही जीता है” ।। युधिछिर उवाच रथानां शकटानां च श्रेष्ठानां चायुतानि मे । युक्तान्येव हि तिष्ठन्ति वाहैरुच्चावचैस्तथा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
rathānāṃ śakaṭānāṃ ca śreṣṭhānāṃ cāyutāni me |
yuktāny eva hi tiṣṭhanti vāhair uccāvacais tathā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “I have tens of thousands of excellent chariots and carts; they stand ready, already yoked, with horses of various kinds.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even immense resources and preparedness become instruments of ruin when discernment is clouded by vice (here, gambling). The verse underscores how attachment and the momentum of a wrongful contest can push a righteous person to risk what should be protected and used responsibly.
In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira responds by declaring the scale of his ready assets—countless chariots and carts already yoked with teams—implying they are available to be wagered, as Shakuni continues to press him deeper into the game.