Shloka 49

पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्

Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager

Devanagari script

द्यूतेडद्धितीय: शकुनिनरिषु कुन्तीसुतस्तेन निसृष्टकाम: । न मन्यते तां निकृतिं युधिष्ठिर- स्तस्मान्न ते प्रश्नमिमं ब्रवीमि,यह शकुनि मनुष्योंमें द्यूतविद्याका अद्वितीय जानकार है। इसीने कुन्तीनन्दन युधिष्ठिरको प्रेरित करके उनके मनमें तुम्हें दाँवपर रखनेकी इच्छा उत्पन्न की है, परंतु युधिष्ठिर इसे शकुनिका छल नहीं मानते; इसीलिये मैं तुम्हारे इस प्रश्नका विवेचन नहीं कर पाता हूँ

Transliteration

dyūte ’dvitīyaḥ śakunir nṛṣu kuntīsutas tena nisṛṣṭakāmaḥ | na manyate tāṁ nikṛtiṁ yudhiṣṭhiras tasmān na te praśnam imaṁ bravīmi ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Among men, Shakuni is unrivalled in the art of gambling. It is he who has stirred the son of Kunti, Yudhishthira, and set his desire in motion—so that he has come to the point of staking you. Yet Yudhishthira does not regard this as Shakuni’s deceit. Therefore, I cannot properly expound upon the question you have asked.”

Word by Word

द्यूतेin gambling / at dice-play

अद्वितीयःunrivalled, without a second

शकुनिःShakuni

नृषुamong men

कुन्तीसुतःKunti's son (Yudhishthira)

तेनby him / by that (person)

निसृष्टकामःone whose desire has been set in motion/instigated

नnot

मन्यतेthinks, considers

ताम्that (her/that act)

निकृतिम्deceit, trickery

युधिष्ठिरःYudhishthira

तस्मात्therefore, from that reason

नnot

तेto you

प्रश्नम्question

इमम्this

ब्रवीमिI say, I tell

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Shakuni

Yudhishthira

Kunti

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when a harmful act is driven by another’s manipulation, ethical clarity depends on recognizing deceit as deceit. Bhishma implies that when Yudhishthira refuses to see Shakuni’s fraud, meaningful moral analysis and corrective counsel become difficult.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the dice-game episode, Bhishma identifies Shakuni as the unrivalled gambler who has provoked Yudhishthira into the desire to stake Draupadi. Because Yudhishthira does not acknowledge Shakuni’s trickery, Bhishma says he cannot fully address the question posed to him.