Shloka 11
युधिष्ठिरस्य द्यूते द्रव्यवर्णनम्
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Enumeration of Stakes in the Dice Match
अन्तर्वेद्यां ददद् वित्तं कामाननुभवन् प्रियान् क्रीडन् स्त्रीभिर्निरातडुक: प्रशाम्य भरतर्षभ
Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca: antarvedyāṁ dadad vittaṁ kāmān anubhavan priyān krīḍan strībhir nirātaṅkaḥ praśāmya bharatarṣabha.
धृतराष्ट्र बोले—भरतश्रेष्ठ! यज्ञ-वेदी के भीतर धन का दान करो, मन को प्रिय लगने वाले भोगों का उपभोग करो और भय-चिन्ता से मुक्त होकर स्त्रियों के साथ क्रीड़ा करते हुए शान्त रहो।
घतरयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a model of worldly pacification: peace is sought through ritual giving (dāna in the sacrificial space) and the sanctioned enjoyment of pleasures (kāma), coupled with a call to be ‘nirātaṅka’—free from anxiety. Ethically, it reflects a tension in the epic between outward prosperity/ritual merit and deeper justice-oriented dharma.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a Bharata hero (honorific ‘bharatarṣabha’), advising him to settle down calmly by donating wealth in a sacrificial context and enjoying agreeable pleasures without fear—an attempt to soothe, normalize, or redirect conduct through ritual and comfort.