Shloka 27

सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः

Devanagari script

क्षीर॑ पिबन्तस्तिष्ठन्ति भुज्जाना: शालितण्डुलान्‌ | षष्टिस्तानि सहस््राणि सर्वे विपुलवक्षस: । एतद्‌ राजन्‌ मम धन तेन दीव्याम्यहं त्वया

Transliteration

kṣīraṁ pibantas tiṣṭhanti bhuñjānāḥ śālitāṇḍulān | ṣaṣṭis tāni sahasrāṇi sarve vipulavakṣasaḥ | etad rājan mama dhanaṁ tena dīvyāmy ahaṁ tvayā ||

Translation

Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Viven bebiendo leche y comiendo arroz cocido de fino grano śāli. Son sesenta mil, y todos de pecho ancho. Oh rey, esta es mi riqueza; al ponerla en prenda, juego contigo.»

Word by Word

• {'kṣīram': 'milk', 'pibantaḥ': 'drinking (present participle, masc. nom. pl.)', 'tiṣṭhanti': 'they remain/live/stand (3rd pl. present)', 'bhuñjānāḥ': 'eating/enjoying (present participle, masc. nom. pl.)', 'śāli-tāṇḍulān': 'rice-grains of śāli (fine rice)

• here, cooked rice made from them', 'ṣaṣṭiḥ': 'sixty', 'sahasrāṇi': 'thousands', 'sarve': 'all', 'vipula-vakṣasaḥ': 'broad-chested, large-breasted (strong, robust)', 'etat': 'this', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'mama': 'my', 'dhanam': 'wealth, property, treasure', 'tena': 'with that

• by means of that', 'dīvyāmi': 'I play/gamble (1st sg. present)', 'aham': 'I', 'tvayā': 'with you (instrumental)'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• the King (addressed as rājan; in context of the dice-game, Duryodhana)
• sixty thousand broad-chested men (retainers/dependents)
• milk (kṣīra)
• śāli rice (śālitāṇḍula)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how gambling can invert values: a ruler who should protect dependents begins to treat living people and their upkeep as ‘wealth’ to be staked. It implicitly warns that adharma arises when desire and addiction override responsibility, compassion, and the king’s duty of guardianship.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the dice match in the Sabha, Yudhiṣṭhira continues to raise the stakes. He describes a large body of robust men—maintained on milk and fine rice—as part of his resources, and declares that he is wagering that ‘wealth’ in play against the opposing king.