Shloka 56
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
पूर्वराचरितं यत् तत् कुराजभिररिंदम । अक्षद्यूतं मृगवध: कच्चिदेषां सुखावहम्,शत्रुदमन श्रीकृष्ण! पहलेके दुष्ट राजाओंने जो जूआ और शिकारकी परिपाटी चला दी है, वह क्या इन सबके लिये सुखावह सिद्ध हुई है? (अपितु कदापि नहीं।)
pūrvarācaritaṃ yat tat kurājabhir arindama | akṣadyūtaṃ mṛgavadhaḥ kaccid eṣāṃ sukhāvaham | śatrudamana śrīkṛṣṇa |
“O subduer of foes, O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the practices set long ago by wicked kings—gambling with dice and the slaughter of the hunt—have they ever truly brought happiness to these people? (Indeed, never.)”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Practices normalized by corrupt rulers—especially gambling and violent sport—do not yield true welfare; they breed harm and disorder, so dharma requires rejecting such ‘traditional’ vices even if they are long-established.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Śrī Kṛṣṇa, invoking him as a subduer of enemies, and rhetorically questions whether the old royal habits of dice-play and hunting have ever benefited anyone—implying that these customs have historically led to suffering rather than happiness.