Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 23
अध्याय ५०: उत्तरेण सह अर्जुनस्य रथप्रयाणे ध्वजचिह्नैः कौरवसेनानिर्देशः
Arjuna directs Uttara by identifying Kaurava commanders through banners
अयं ते मातुल: प्राज्ञ: क्षत्रधर्मस्य कोविद: | दुर्यूतदेवी गान्धार: शकुनिर्युध्यतामिह
ayaṃ te mātulaḥ prājñaḥ kṣatradharmasya kovidaḥ | duryūtadevī gāndhāraḥ śakunir yudhyatām iha ||
Kṛpa said: “Here is your maternal uncle Śakuni—wise and well-versed in the duties of the kṣatriya. Let this king of Gandhāra, famed for deceitful skill at dice, be the one to fight here.”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension between proclaimed kṣatriya-dharma (warrior duty and honor) and Śakuni’s reputation for deceit through gambling—suggesting that competence and reputation can be ethically mixed, and that counsel in war may be driven by expediency rather than moral clarity.
Kṛpa points out Śakuni as the addressee’s maternal uncle and describes him as wise and skilled in kṣatriya conduct, then proposes that Śakuni—known for crafty dicing and as the ruler of Gandhāra—should be the one to engage in the fighting at this moment.
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