Shloka 10
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
द्वयोरेकतरे बुद्धि: क्रियतामद्य पुष्कर । कैतवेनाक्षवत्यां तु युद्धे वा ना ताम्यतां धनु:,“पुष्कर! आज तुम दोमेंसे एकमें मन लगाओ। छलपूर्वक जूआ खेलो अथवा युद्धके लिये धनुषपर प्रत्यज्चा चढ़ाओ”
dvayor ekatare buddhiḥ kriyatām adya puṣkara | kaitavenākṣavatyāṃ tu yuddhe vā na ātāmyatāṃ dhanuḥ ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “Puṣkara, decide today where your mind will stand—choose one of the two. Either play at dice with deceit, or else, without faltering, string your bow for battle.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral and practical crossroads: one may choose the ignoble route of deceitful gambling or the direct, openly accountable route of battle. It stresses fixing one’s resolve and not wavering—while implicitly contrasting adharma (fraud) with a more straightforward kṣatriya mode of contest (war).
Bṛhadaśva addresses Puṣkara and presses him to commit to one of two courses—either to engage in dice with cheating or to prepare for combat by stringing the bow—urging decisiveness and warning against hesitation.