Shloka 11
अध्याय ६६: पुनर्द्यूत-प्रस्तावः
Proposal for a Renewed Dice Game
धृतराष्ट्रका पुत्र नरकके अत्यन्त भयंकर एवं कुटिल द्वारको नहीं देख रहा है। दुःशासनके साथ कौरवोंमेंसे बहुत-से लोग दुर्योधनकी इस चद्यूतक्रीड़ामें उसके साथी बन गये ।। मज्जन्त्यलाबूनि शिला: प्लवन्ते मुहान्ति नावो5म्भसि शश्वदेव | मूढो राजा धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्रो न मे वाच: पथ्यरूपा: शूणोति,चाहे तूँबी जलमें डूब जाय, पत्थर तैरने लग जाय तथा नौकाएँ भी सदा ही जलमें डूब जाया करें; परंतु धृतराष्ट्रका यह मूर्ख पुत्र राजा दुर्योधन मेरी हितकर बातें नहीं सुन सकता
majjanty alābūni śilāḥ plavante muhyanti nāvo 'mbhasi śaśvad eva | mūḍho rājā dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putro na me vācaḥ pathyarūpāḥ śṛṇoti ||
Vidura laments that the moral order seems inverted: gourds sink, stones float, and boats lose their way in the waters. In the same way, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s foolish son—King Duryodhana—will not listen to Vidura’s wholesome, welfare-giving counsel. The verse underscores the ethical tragedy of a ruler who rejects good advice and embraces crooked, fearsome paths, especially in the context of the dice-game and the Kauravas’ complicity.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s refusal to heed wholesome counsel is a sign of delusion and leads to ethical collapse; when adharma dominates, it feels as though the natural order itself has been reversed.
Vidura is warning and grieving that Duryodhana, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, is not receptive to beneficial advice—especially amid the Kauravas’ crooked course connected with the dice-game—so even clear moral guidance fails to restrain him.