Shloka 48
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
त्यजेत सर्वा पृथिवीं समृद्धां युधिष्ठटिरो धर्ममथो न जह्यात् उक्त जितो5स्मीति च पाण्डवेन तस्मान्न शक््नोमि विवेक्तुमेतत्
tyajet sarvāṃ pṛthivīṃ samṛddhāṃ yudhiṣṭhiro dharmam atho na jahyāt | uktaṃ jito ’smīti ca pāṇḍavena tasmān na śaknomi vivektum etat ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Je crois que Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira pourrait renoncer même à cette terre entière et prospère, mais il n’abandonnerait pas le dharma. Et puisque ce fils de Pāṇḍu a lui-même déclaré : “J’ai été gagné/vaincu”, je ne puis donc trancher cette affaire.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s defining trait: unwavering commitment to dharma. Even if he could renounce worldly sovereignty, he would not renounce righteousness. Yet Bhīṣma also points to a moral-legal constraint: because Yudhiṣṭhira himself declared ‘I am won,’ Bhīṣma refrains from giving a decisive ruling, showing how spoken commitments can bind ethical deliberation in royal assemblies.
In the aftermath of the dice-game stakes, a dispute arises about what can be claimed and what is validly lost. Bhīṣma is asked to judge, but he notes that Yudhiṣṭhira—known for dharma—has already stated that he has been ‘won/defeated.’ Because of that explicit declaration, Bhīṣma says he cannot clearly decide the issue.