Shloka 6
अध्याय ६६: पुनर्द्यूत-प्रस्तावः
Proposal for a Renewed Dice Game
जैसे बाँस अपने नाशके लिये ही फल धारण करता है, उसी प्रकार धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्र इस राजा दुर्योधनने महान् भयदायक वैरकी सृष्टिके लिये इस जूएके खेलको अपनाया है। यह ऐसा मतवाला हो गया है कि मौत सिरपर नाच रही है; किंतु इसे उसका पता ही नहीं है ।। नारुन्तुदः स्यान्न नृशंसवादी न हीनत: परमभ्याददीत । ययास्य वाचा पर उद्विजेत नतां वदेदुषतीं पापलोक्याम्,किसीको मर्मभेदी बात न कहे, किसीसे कठोर वचन न बोले। नीच कर्मके द्वारा शत्रुको वशमें करनेकी चेष्टा न करे। जिस बातसे दूसरेको उद्वेग हो, जो जलन पैदा करनेवाली और नरककी प्राप्ति करानेवाली हो, वैसी बात मुँहले कभी न निकाले
yathā vaṃśaḥ svanāśāyaiva phalaṃ dhārayati, tathā dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrair eṣa rājā duryodhanaḥ mahad bhayānaka-vaira-sṛṣṭaye dyūta-krīḍām āśritaḥ. sa evam unmattaḥ saṃjātaḥ yathā mṛtyuḥ śirasi nṛtyati, kintu tasya tad api na viditam. nāruntudaḥ syān na nṛśaṃsavādī na hīnataḥ param abhyādadīta; yayāsya vācā para udvijet na tāṃ vaded uṣatīṃ pāpalokyām.
Just as a bamboo bears fruit only for its own destruction, so Duryodhana—son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra—has embraced this game of dice to bring into being a vast and terrifying enmity. He is so intoxicated with delusion that death seems to be dancing upon his head, yet he does not recognize it. Therefore one should not speak words that pierce another’s heart, nor use cruel speech; one should not seek advantage through base means; and one should never utter words that agitate others—words that burn with malice and lead to hellish consequences.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches restraint and righteousness in speech and conduct: do not wound others with cutting words, do not speak cruelly, and do not pursue victory through base means. Harmful, inflammatory speech and ignoble tactics generate sin and destructive consequences.
In the Sabha assembly context, Vidura foresees that Duryodhana’s embrace of the dice game is not harmless entertainment but a deliberate engine for creating terrifying enmity. He likens it to bamboo fruiting for its own ruin, warning that Duryodhana is blinded by arrogance while death and disaster draw near.