Shloka 7
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 126 — Kṛṣṇa’s Indictment of Misrule and the Varuṇa Analogy (कृष्णवाक्यं–धर्मपाशदृष्टान्तः)
प्रियाभ्युपगते द्यूते पाण्डवा मधुसूदन । जिता: शकुनिना राज्यं तत्र कि मम दुष्कृतम्,“मधुसूदन! पाण्डवोंको जूएका खेल बड़ा प्रिय था। इसीलिये वे उसमें प्रवृत्त हुए। फिर यदि मामा शकुनिने उनका राज्य जीत लिया तो इसमें मेरा क्या अपराध हो गया?
priyābhyupagate dyūte pāṇḍavā madhusūdana | jitāḥ śakuninā rājyaṃ tatra ki mama duṣkṛtam ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «¡Oh Madhusūdana! Los Pāṇḍavas eran aficionados al juego de dados y por eso entraron en esa partida. Si mi tío materno Śakuni ganó allí su reino, ¿qué falta mía hay en ello?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical evasion: one may try to excuse oneself by pointing to others’ choices (the Pāṇḍavas’ fondness for dice) or another’s agency (Śakuni’s victory), yet the Mahābhārata repeatedly questions such blame-shifting and presses the issue of personal responsibility in enabling injustice.
In the Udyoga Parva’s lead-up to war, the speaker recalls the dice-game disaster and presents a defensive argument to Kṛṣṇa: since the Pāṇḍavas willingly gambled and Śakuni won, the speaker claims he bears no fault for the loss of their kingdom—an attempt to justify past actions amid rising demands for accountability.