Shloka 31
एषो<क्षकुशलो जिद्दो द्यूतकृत् कितव: शठ:
eṣo 'kṣakuśalo jiddho dyūtakṛt kitavaḥ śaṭhaḥ
Sañjaya said: “This man is skilled with dice—one who has been hardened by gambling, a professional gambler, and a deceitful cheat.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns gambling-associated deceit by labeling the person as a practiced dice-expert and a cheat, highlighting how skill used for manipulation becomes ethically blameworthy (adharmic), especially in a context where truth and fair conduct are already under strain.
Sañjaya characterizes a person (not named in this line) as an expert in dice and inherently deceitful, using morally charged terms to frame the listener’s judgment about that individual’s reliability and intentions amid the events of the war narrative.