Shloka 5
Divākara-prasāda and the Establishment of Akṣaya-anna
Sūrya’s Favor and Inexhaustible Provision
स वै धर्मो विप्रलब्ध: सभायां पापात्मभि: सौबलेयप्रधानै: । आहूय कुन्तीसुतमक्षवत्यां पराजैषीत् सत्यसंधं सुतस्ते,शकुनि आदि पापात्माओंने द्यूतसभामें उस धर्मके साथ विश्वासघात किया; क्योंकि आपके पुत्रने सत्य-प्रतिज्ञ कुन्तीनन्दन युधिष्ठिरको बुलाकर उन्हें कपटपूर्वक पराजित किया है
sa vai dharmo vipralabdhaḥ sabhāyāṃ pāpātmabhiḥ saubaleyapradhānaiḥ | āhūya kuntīsutam akṣavatyāṃ parājaiṣīt satyasaṃdhaṃ sutas te |
Ese mismo Dharma fue traicionado en la asamblea real por hombres pecadores, encabezados por Śakuni, hijo de Subala. Tras convocar a Yudhiṣṭhira, hijo de Kuntī, al juego de dados, tu hijo lo hizo caer derrotado con engaño: a él, firme en la verdad y fiel a la palabra empeñada.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura frames the dice-match not as a mere contest but as a moral collapse: when leaders employ deceit and exploit a truth-bound person, Dharma itself is violated. The verse condemns manipulation in public institutions and warns that adharma committed in the name of power corrodes legitimacy.
Vidura rebukes the Kaurava side, saying that in the royal assembly Śakuni and other wicked men orchestrated a fraudulent dice-game. By summoning Yudhiṣṭhira—renowned for keeping his word—and defeating him through trickery, they betrayed Dharma in the very place meant to uphold justice.