Shloka 140

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

जित्वा स वनवासाय प्रेषयामास तांस्तत: । एतत्‌ सर्व सभापर्व समाख्यातं महात्मना,दुर्योधनने उन्हें जूएमें जीतकर वनवासके लिये भेज दिया। महर्षि व्यासने सभापर्वमें यही सब कथा कही है

Transliteration

jitvā sa vanavāsāya preṣayāmāsa tāṁs tataḥ | etat sarvaṁ sabhāparva samākhyātaṁ mahātmanā ||

Translation

Les ayant vaincus au jeu de dés, il les envoya ensuite en exil dans la forêt. Tout cela fut plus tard rapporté dans son entier par le sage au grand cœur dans le Sabhāparvan, montrant qu’une victoire acquise par la ruse et l’adharma ne mène pas à une souveraineté légitime, mais à la souffrance des justes et, finalement, à la ruine du fautif.

Word by Word

जित्वाhaving conquered/won

सःhe

वनवासायfor exile to the forest

प्रेषयामासsent/caused to be sent

तान्them

ततःthen/thereafter

एतत्this (all this)

सर्वम्all

सभापर्वin the Sabhā-parvan (Book of the Assembly Hall)

समाख्यातम्was narrated/told

महात्मनाby the great-souled (sage)

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sabhāparvan

Vyāsa (implied by mahātmanā and the accompanying Hindi gloss)

Duryodhana (from the accompanying Hindi gloss)

Pāṇḍavas (implied by 'them' and the narrative context of dice and exile)

forest exile (vanavāsa)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that outcomes achieved through unethical means—here, winning by deceit in gambling—produce suffering and set in motion consequences that ultimately undermine the wrongdoer; dharma is not validated by mere victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

After winning the opponents in a dice match, the victor sends them to forest exile; the verse also functions as a cross-reference, noting that this entire episode is narrated in detail in the Sabhāparvan by the great sage (traditionally Vyāsa).