Shloka 49
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
द्यूतपर्व ततः प्रोक्तमनुद्यूतमत: परम् । तत आरण्यकं पर्व किर्मीरवध एव च,इसके बाद क्रमशः द्यूत एवं अनुद्यूतपर्व हैं। तत्पश्चात् वनयात्रापर्व तथा किर्मीरवधपर्व है
dyūtapārva tataḥ proktam anudyūtam ataḥ param | tata āraṇyakaṃ parva kirmīravadha eva ca ||
Il énuméra ensuite l’ordre des sections : vient d’abord le Dyūta-parvan (l’épisode du jeu), puis l’Anudyūta-parvan (le jeu qui s’ensuit). Après cela se trouve l’Āraṇyaka-parvan (le séjour en forêt), ainsi que le Kirmīra-vadha-parvan (la mise à mort de Kirmīra). Le vers sert de carte à la crise morale qui se déploie dans l’épopée : comment la chute dans le vice (le jeu) entraîne l’exil et des rencontres violentes, éprouvant la fidélité au dharma dans l’adversité.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
By listing the Dyūta and Anudyūta episodes before the forest sojourn and the slaying of Kirmīra, the text highlights a moral chain: indulgence in adharma (gambling driven by greed and pride) leads to loss, exile, and further trials. The implied lesson is vigilance over one’s choices, since ethical lapses can set in motion long sequences of suffering that demand endurance and righteous conduct to overcome.
The speaker is outlining the order of upcoming parvans (major sections) of the Mahābhārata: first the gambling match (Dyūta), then the renewed gambling (Anudyūta), then the forest-life narrative (Āraṇyaka), and within that stream the episode of killing the rākṣasa Kirmīra (Kirmīra-vadha). It is a structural summary that situates later events in sequence.