Shloka 18
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
इमं धर्म कुरवो जानताशु ध्वस्ते धर्मे परिषत् सम्प्रदुष्येत् । इमां चेत् पूर्व कितवोडग्लहिष्य- दीशो5भविष्यदपराजितात्मा
imaṃ dharmaṃ kuravo jānata āśu dhvaste dharme pariṣat sampraduṣyet | imāṃ cet pūrvaṃ kitavo ’glahiṣyad īśo ’bhaviṣyad aparājitātmā kaurava ||
Vidura said: “O Kurus, understand this principle of dharma at once: when dharma is destroyed, the entire royal assembly becomes tainted with blame. And if the gambler-king had first staked this woman before losing his own person, then, O Kaurava, he would have remained master of himself—unconquered—and could have claimed authority in that act.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura teaches that the legitimacy of a royal court depends on protecting dharma; when dharma is violated, the entire assembly shares the stain. He also argues that a person who has lost himself (through being staked and lost) loses moral and legal authority to stake others.
In the Kuru court after the dice game, Vidura rebukes the proceedings: he warns the Kurus that the sabhā becomes culpable if it permits adharma. He points to the impropriety of Yudhiṣṭhira’s staking of Draupadī after having already lost his own person, questioning the validity of that wager.