Shloka 29

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

Devanagari script

युधिछिर उवाच ताम्रलोहै: परिवृता निधयो ये चतु:शता: । पज्चद्रौणिक एकैक: सुवर्णस्याहतस्य वै

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | tāmrāyasa-parivṛtā nidhayo ye catuḥśatāḥ | pañca-drauṇika ekaikaḥ suvarṇasyāhatasya vai |

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Tengo cuatrocientos cofres de tesoro, ceñidos con cobre y hierro. En cada uno hay cinco droṇas de oro refinado—oro fundido y purificado. Esta es mi riqueza, oh Bhārata; la pongo en juego y apuesto contigo.»

Word by Word

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ताम्रलोहैः: with copper and iron (things)
• ताम्रलोहैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ताम्रलोह
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• परिवृताः: enclosed/surrounded
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-वृत्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural, kta (past passive participle)

• निधयः: treasures/hoards
• निधयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ये: which/that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चतुःशताः: four hundred
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुःशत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पञ्चद्रौणिकाः: each of five-droṇa measure
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चद्रौणिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एकैकः: each one (individually)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकैक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुवर्णस्य: of gold
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुवर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• आहतस्य: smelted/refined (lit. struck/processed)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-हन्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular, kta (past passive participle)

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhārata (address to a Kaurava, contextually Duryodhana)
• treasure-chests (nidhis)
• copper
• iron
• gold
• droṇa (measure)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment to wealth and the urge to gamble can eclipse discernment (viveka) and dharma. Even immense, carefully amassed riches become instruments of self-harm when placed at stake in adharma-driven play, foreshadowing the moral and social collapse that follows.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the dice match in the royal assembly, Yudhiṣṭhira declares the magnitude of his wealth—hundreds of metal-bound treasure-chests filled with refined gold—and formally offers it as his stake against the Kauravas, escalating the wager and deepening his entanglement in the game.