Shloka 13
सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः
प्राज्ञा मेधाविनो दान्ता युवानो मृष्टकुण्डला: । पात्रीहस्ता दिवारात्रमतिथीन् भोजयन्त्युत । एतद्ू राजन् मम धन तेन दीव्याम्यहं त्वया
prājñā medhāvino dāntā yuvāno mṛṣṭakuṇḍalāḥ | pātrīhastā divārātram atithīn bhojayanty uta | etad ū rājann mama dhanaṃ tena dīvyāmy ahaṃ tvayā ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Jóvenes sabios, inteligentes y dueños de sí—con pendientes brillantes y finamente adornados—se yerguen con vasijas de servicio en las manos y, día y noche, alimentan a los huéspedes. Oh Rey, ésta es mi riqueza; apostándola, juego contigo».
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True ‘wealth’ is portrayed as dharmic capacity—disciplined people and the ongoing practice of honoring and feeding guests. The verse also warns that even virtuous resources can be endangered when one submits to unethical gambling and misplaced notions of stake and ownership.
In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira continues to name what he is staking. Here he declares that his ‘wealth’ consists of capable, disciplined young attendants who continually serve guests, and he offers even this as a wager against the king he is playing with.