Shloka 6

याज्ञसेनी-प्रश्नः

Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly

Devanagari script

सो<यं मत्तो$क्षद्यूतेन मधुवन्न परीक्षते | प्रपातं बुध्यते नैव वैरं कृत्वा महारथै:

Transliteration

so 'yaṁ matto 'kṣadyūtena madhuvan na parīkṣate | prapātaṁ budhyate naiva vairaṁ kṛtvā mahārathaiḥ ||

Translation

Vidura says: “This man, intoxicated by the gambling with dice, has become so deluded that—like one drunk with mead—he does not examine what lies ahead. He does not at all perceive the precipice: that by making enmity with the great chariot-warriors (the Pāṇḍavas), we are heading toward ruin and death.”

Word by Word

• {'saḥ ayam': 'this very man (here, Duryodhana)', 'mattaḥ': 'intoxicated, maddened, deluded', 'akṣa-dyūtena': 'by dice-gambling (akṣa = dice

• dyūta = gambling)', 'madhu-vat': 'like one drunk on mead/honey-wine

• as if intoxicated', 'na parīkṣate': 'does not examine, does not consider, does not assess', 'prapātam': 'a precipice

• fatal plunge', 'budhyate': 'understands, realizes, awakens to', 'na eva': 'not at all', 'vairam': 'enmity, hostility', 'kṛtvā': 'having made, having done', 'mahārathaiḥ': 'with great chariot-warriors

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Duryodhana
• Akṣa (dice)
• Dyūta (gambling)
• Mahārathas (great warriors)
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura warns that intoxication—here, the frenzy born of gambling success and pride—destroys discernment. Ethical and political decisions made under such delusion ignore consequences and lead to inevitable downfall, especially when one provokes enmity with powerful and righteous opponents.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the dice-game episode, Vidura criticizes Duryodhana’s reckless mindset. He compares him to a drunk man who cannot see the danger ahead and cautions that hostility toward the Pāṇḍavas will drive the Kuru side toward catastrophe.