Shloka 5

Book 3 (Āraṇyaka-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Alliance Gathering; Arjuna’s Praise of Keśava; Draupadī’s Duḥkha-nivedana; Assurances and Vows

Devanagari script

वीरसेनसुतो यैस्तु राज्यात्‌ प्रभ्रंशित: पुरा । अतर्कितविनाशश्ष्‌ देवनेन विशाम्पते,तथा जिन दोषोंने पूर्वकालमें वीरसेनपुत्र महाराज नलको राजसिंहासनसे च्युत किया। नरेश्वर! जूआ खेलनेसे सहसा ऐसा सर्वनाश उपस्थित हो जाता है, जो कल्पनामें भी नहीं आ सकता

Transliteration

vīrasenasuto yais tu rājyāt prabhraṁśitaḥ purā | atarkita-vināśaś ca devena viśāmpate ||

Translation

Oh señor de los pueblos, fue por el juego que antaño Nala, hijo de Vīrasena, cayó de su reino. Del lance de los dados nace una ruina súbita e imprevista—una destrucción que la mente ni siquiera alcanza a anticipar.

Word by Word

वीरसेनसुतःthe son of Vīrasena (Nala)

यैःby whom/with which (persons)

तुbut/indeed

राज्यात्from the kingdom

प्रभ्रंशितःmade to fall; dethroned

पुराformerly/once

अतर्कितविनाशःan unimagined/unexpected ruin

देवनेनby gambling; by play (of dice)

विशाम्पतेO lord of the people (king)

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva

Nala

Vīrasena

dice (deva)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Gambling (dice-play) can bring sudden, unimaginable ruin; a ruler should avoid such vice because it destroys sovereignty, judgment, and stability, as illustrated by Nala’s fall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses a king (‘lord of the people’) and cites the earlier example of Nala, son of Vīrasena, who was dethroned due to gambling, emphasizing how quickly dice can cause total collapse.