Shloka 25
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! यह सुनकर छलका आश्रय लेनेवाले शकुनिने पुनः अपनी ही जीतका निश्चय करके युधिष्ठिरसे कहा--“यह दाँव भी मैंने ही जीता है” ।। युधिछिर उवाच रथानां शकटानां च श्रेष्ठानां चायुतानि मे । युक्तान्येव हि तिष्ठन्ति वाहैरुच्चावचैस्तथा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
rathānāṃ śakaṭānāṃ ca śreṣṭhānāṃ cāyutāni me |
yuktāny eva hi tiṣṭhanti vāhair uccāvacais tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Janamejaya! Mendengar itu, Śakuni yang bersandar pada tipu daya kembali memastikan kemenangannya sendiri dan berkata kepada Yudhiṣṭhira: ‘Taruhan ini pun aku yang menang.’” Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Aku memiliki puluhan ribu kereta perang dan pedati yang unggul; semuanya berdiri siap, telah terpasang kuknya, dengan kuda-kuda dari berbagai jenis.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even immense resources and preparedness become instruments of ruin when discernment is clouded by vice (here, gambling). The verse underscores how attachment and the momentum of a wrongful contest can push a righteous person to risk what should be protected and used responsibly.
In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira responds by declaring the scale of his ready assets—countless chariots and carts already yoked with teams—implying they are available to be wagered, as Shakuni continues to press him deeper into the game.