Adhyāya 59: Vidura’s Admonition to Duryodhana after the Summons of Draupadī (सभा पर्व)
अक्षेहि शिक्षितो5भ्येति निकृत्यैव युधिष्ठिर । विद्वानविदुषो5भ्येति नाहुस्तां निकृतिं जना:
akṣaiḥ śikṣito 'bhyeti nikṛtyaiva yudhiṣṭhira | vidvān aviduṣo 'bhyeti nāhus tāṁ nikṛtiṁ janāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Dalam permainan dadu, orang yang terlatih sepenuhnya mengalahkan yang tak terlatih hanya dengan tipu daya. Demikian pula ketika orang berilmu menundukkan yang tak berilmu, itu pun sejenis tipu daya—namun orang tidak menyebutnya tipu daya.”
युधिषछिर उवाच
Yudhiṣṭhira highlights a moral inconsistency: advantage gained through superior skill over the unskilled can resemble deceit, especially in gambling, yet society often excuses it when it appears as ‘learning’ or ‘expertise’ rather than trickery.
In the context of the dice episode in the Sabha Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on how a trained gambler defeats an untrained opponent through unfair advantage, questioning whether such victory is ethically different from outright fraud.