Shloka 25
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
तदनन्तर दुर्योधनके वशमें रहनेवाले प्रातिकामीने द्रौपदीके क्रोधसे डरते हुए अपने मान-सम्मानकी परवा न करके पुनः सभासदोंसे पूछा-- मैं द्रौपदीको क्या उत्तर दूँ?” ।। दुर्योधन उवाच दुःशासनैष मम सूतपुत्रो वृकोदरादुद्धिजतेडल्पचेता: । स्वयं प्रगृह्मानय याज्ञसेनीं कि ते करिष्यन्त्यवशा: सपत्ना:,दुर्योधन बोला--दुःशासन! यह मेरा सेवक सूतपुत्र प्रातिकामी बड़ा मूर्ख है। इसे भीमसेनका डर लगा हुआ है। तुम स्वयं द्रौपदीको यहाँ पकड़ लाओ। हमारे शत्रु पाण्डव इस समय हमलोगोंके वशगमें हैं। वे तुम्हारा क्या कर लेंगे
duryodhana uvāca | duḥśāsana eṣa mama sūtaputro vṛkodarād uddvijate 'lpacetāḥ | svayaṃ pragṛhya ānaya yājñasenīṃ kiṃ te kariṣyanty avaśāḥ sapatnāḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “Duḥśāsana, this charioteer’s son—my attendant—is small-minded and frightened of Vṛkodara (Bhīma). You yourself seize Yājñasenī (Draupadī) and bring her here. What can our rivals, the Pāṇḍavas, do to you now, when they are powerless and under our control?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how arrogance and the intoxication of power lead to adharma: Duryodhana dismisses moral restraint, insults a subordinate, and commands the forcible seizure of Draupadī, assuming the Pāṇḍavas’ helplessness. It warns that when authority is divorced from dharma, it becomes cruelty and invites catastrophic consequences.
After the dice-game, Duryodhana derides Prātikāmī for fearing Bhīma and orders Duḥśāsana to personally seize and bring Draupadī into the royal assembly. He asserts that the Pāṇḍavas are currently powerless and cannot retaliate, escalating the public humiliation that becomes a turning point toward war.