Shloka 18
नलस्य पुष्करजयो द्यूते
Nala’s Victory over Puṣkara in the Dice-Game
सचतां प्रतिजग्राह विधिदृष्टेन कर्मणा | गृहीत्वा चाश्वह्नदयं राजन् भाज़ासुरिनृप:,युधिष्ठिर! ऋतुपर्णने भी शास्त्रीय विधिके अनुसार उनसे अश्वविद्या ग्रहण की। अश्वोंका रहस्य ग्रहण करके और निषधनरेश नलको पुनः द्यूतविद्याका रहस्य समझाकर दूसरा सारथि साथ ले राजा ऋतुपर्ण अपने नगरको चले गये
sa cātāṃ pratijagrāha vidhidṛṣṭena karmaṇā | gṛhītvā cāśvahṛdayaṃ rājan bhāṣāsuri-nṛpaḥ, yudhiṣṭhira! ||
Y él lo aceptó debidamente, realizando el acto conforme al rito prescrito. Tras recibir el secreto «Corazón del Caballo»—el verdadero saber sobre los caballos—, oh rey Yudhiṣṭhira, el soberano Ṛtuparṇa, a su vez, instruyó a Nala, rey de Niṣadha, en el secreto del juego de dados; y luego, tomando consigo a otro auriga, partió hacia su propia ciudad.
नल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowledge and power should be exchanged and used within dharma: the verse highlights orderly, rule-governed conduct (vidhi) and reciprocal obligation. Skills like horse-lore or dice-lore are ethically neutral; their moral value depends on intention and application.
Ṛtuparṇa receives from Nala the secret of horse-knowledge (aśvahṛdaya/aśva-vidyā). In return he teaches Nala the secret of dice-play (dūta-vidyā). After arranging another charioteer, Ṛtuparṇa departs for his own city.