Shloka 49
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
द्यूतेडद्धितीय: शकुनिनरिषु कुन्तीसुतस्तेन निसृष्टकाम: । न मन्यते तां निकृतिं युधिष्ठिर- स्तस्मान्न ते प्रश्नमिमं ब्रवीमि
dyūte ’dvitīyaḥ śakunir nṛṣu kuntīsutas tena nisṛṣṭakāmaḥ | na manyate tāṁ nikṛtiṁ yudhiṣṭhiras tasmān na te praśnam imaṁ bravīmi ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Parmi les hommes, Śakuni est sans égal dans l’art du jeu. C’est lui qui a troublé le fils de Kuntī, Yudhiṣṭhira, et a mis son désir en mouvement, jusqu’à le conduire à te mettre en gage. Pourtant, Yudhiṣṭhira n’y voit pas la ruse de Śakuni. C’est pourquoi je ne puis exposer comme il convient la question que tu as posée.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a harmful act is driven by another’s manipulation, ethical clarity depends on recognizing deceit as deceit. Bhishma implies that when Yudhishthira refuses to see Shakuni’s fraud, meaningful moral analysis and corrective counsel become difficult.
During the dice-game episode, Bhishma identifies Shakuni as the unrivalled gambler who has provoked Yudhishthira into the desire to stake Draupadi. Because Yudhishthira does not acknowledge Shakuni’s trickery, Bhishma says he cannot fully address the question posed to him.