Shloka 31

Devanagari script

द्यूतेन ते महाराज पुनर्दययूतमवर्तत । भवांश्व पुनराहूतो द्यूते नैवापनेष्यति,“महाराज! आप एक बार जूएके संकटसे बचकर दुबारा द्यूतक्रीडामें प्रवृत्त हो गये थे, अतः मैं समझता हूँ, यदि पुनः आपका द्यूतके लिये आवाहन हो तो आप उससे पीछे न हटेंगे

Transliteration

dyūtena te mahārāja punar dayayūtam avartata | bhavāṁś ca punar āhūto dyūte naivāpaneṣyati ||

Translation

Waiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, setelah sekali diselamatkan dari bahaya perjudian, engkau kembali berpaling kepada dadu. Karena itu kupahami: bila engkau dipanggil lagi ke permainan, engkau tidak akan mundur darinya.”

Word by Word

द्यूतेनby gambling / through dice-play

तेto you

महाराजO great king

पुनःagain

दययाby compassion / out of pity

यूतम्the gambling match / dice-game

अवर्ततreturned / engaged (again)

भवान्you (honorific)

चand

पुनःagain

आहूतःhaving been challenged / invited

द्यूतेin gambling / in the dice-game

नnot

एवindeed / surely

अपनेष्यतिwill withdraw / will back out

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (the king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical danger of relapse: once a person has yielded to a destructive habit like gambling, mere escape from its immediate consequences does not ensure reform. Without self-restraint and discernment, the same invitation will again overpower one’s judgment, leading to repeated downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments on the king’s prior conduct: despite having been saved once from the crisis caused by gambling, he returned to the dice. From this pattern, the speaker infers that if the king is challenged again to gamble, he will not refuse.