Shloka 59
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
राष्ट्राणि धनधान्यं च प्रयुक्त: परमोपधि: । ऐसे साधु बर्ताववाले युधिष्ठिरके राज्य तथा धन-धान्यका अपहरण कर लेनेकी इच्छासे सुबलपुत्र शकुनिने जूएके बहाने अपना महान् कपटजाल फैलाया ।।
rāṣṭrāṇi dhanadhānyaṃ ca prayuktaḥ paramopadhiḥ | evaṃ sādhubartāvavāle yudhiṣṭhirake rājya tathā dhana-dhānyakā apaharaṇa kara lene kī icchā se subalaputraḥ śakunir dyūtake bahāne ātmanaḥ mahān kapaṭajālaṃ phailāyām āsa || sa tām avasthāṃ samprāpya kṛṣṇāṃ prekṣya sabhāgatām |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: With the utmost deceit set in motion, Śakuni, the son of Subala, spread a vast web of fraud under the pretext of a dice-game—driven by the desire to seize Yudhiṣṭhira’s kingdom and to strip away his wealth and grain. Having brought matters to that pass, he then looked upon Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) as she came into the royal assembly.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma often advances through ‘respectable’ pretexts: a dice-game becomes a tool for political theft. It warns that greed and calculated deceit corrode royal duty, public ethics, and the protection owed to others—especially in a king’s court.
Śakuni, intent on taking Yudhiṣṭhira’s sovereignty and resources, engineers a major deception through gambling. The situation escalates to the point that Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā) is seen entering the assembly, signaling the impending public crisis of honor and dharma.