Shloka 18
सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः
वैशम्पायन उवाच इत्येवंवादिनं पार्थ प्रहसन्निव सौबल: । जितमित्येव शकुनिर्युधिष्ठिरमभाषत
vaiśampāyana uvāca | ityevaṃ-vādinaṃ pārtha prahasan iva saubalaḥ | jitam ity eva śakunir yudhiṣṭhiram abhāṣata ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Mientras el hijo de Pṛthā (Yudhiṣṭhira) hablaba así, Saubala (Śakuni), como riendo con burla, se dirigió a Yudhiṣṭhira: «¡Ganado—sí, ganado! También esta tirada la he ganado yo».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adherence to outward rules without vigilance for inner fairness can be exploited: Yudhiṣṭhira’s commitment to the formal process of the game becomes a vulnerability when faced with Śakuni’s mockery and manipulative certainty of victory.
In the dice-hall episode, as Yudhiṣṭhira speaks, Śakuni—laughing derisively—declares that he has won this stake too, intensifying the humiliation and signaling the continuing, calculated domination of the game.