Shloka 70
Ārjava, Satya, and the Virocana–Sudhanvan Exemplum
Udyoga-parva 35
पुरा हरुक्तं नाकरोस्त्वं वचो मे द्यूते जितां द्रौपदीं प्रेक्ष्य राजन् । दुर्योधन वारयेत्यक्षवत्यां कितवत्वं पण्डिता वर्जयन्ति
purā hṛtaṃ na akāroḥ tvaṃ vaco me dyūte jitāṃ draupadīṃ prekṣya rājan | duryodhana vārayet y akṣavatyāṃ kitavatvaṃ paṇḍitā varjayanti
Vidura said: “Formerly, O King, you did not act upon my counsel. Even after seeing Draupadī won in the gambling match, you did not restrain Duryodhana. The wise avoid the gambler’s vice, for it leads to ruin and disgrace.”
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must heed wise counsel and restrain wrongdoing within his own family; gambling and the gambler’s vice (kitavatva) are condemned by the wise because they destroy honor, justice, and social order.
Vidura reproaches King Dhṛtarāṣṭra for failing to act on earlier warnings during the dice-game episode—specifically, for not stopping Duryodhana even after Draupadī was treated as a stake and ‘won’—highlighting how that negligence fueled the larger conflict.