Shloka 15
अद्यासौ सौबल: कृष्ण ग्लहाञ्जानातु वै शरान् | दुरोदरं च गाण्डीवं मण्डलं च रथं प्रति
adyāsau saubalaḥ kṛṣṇa glahāñ jānātu vai śarān | durodaṁ ca gāṇḍīvaṁ maṇḍalaṁ ca rathaṁ prati ||
Dijo Sañjaya: «¡Oh Kṛṣṇa!, que ese Saubala—Śakuni, el tahúr—sepa hoy de veras que mis flechas son la apuesta, el Gāṇḍīva son los dados, y mi carro es el tablero con sus casillas.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reframes the infamous dice-game—an emblem of deceit and adharma—into a battlefield metaphor, implying that wrongful cunning must be met not by further deceit but by steadfast, disciplined action aligned with kṣatriya duty and the pursuit of justice.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s taunt addressed to Kṛṣṇa: Śakuni, known for gambling, will ‘learn’ on this day that the real stakes are arrows, the ‘dice’ is the Gāṇḍīva bow, and the ‘board’ is the chariot—signaling imminent combat and a vow to answer past humiliation through war.