Shloka 8
Akṣa-hṛdaya-dāna and Phalāśruti of the Nalopākhyāna (अक्षहृदयदानम् / नलोपाख्यान-फलश्रुतिः)
न चेद् वाञ्छसि त्वं द्यूतं युद्धद्यूत॑ प्रवर्तताम् । द्वैरथेनास्तु वै शान्तिस्तव वा मम वा नृप,“यदि तुम पासोंसे जूआ खेलना न चाहो तो बाणोंद्वारा युद्धका जूआ प्रारम्भ होना चाहिये। राजन! द्वैरथयुद्धके द्वारा तुम्हारी अथवा मेरी शान्ति हो जाय
na ced vāñchasi tvaṃ dyūtaṃ yuddha-dyūtaṃ pravartatām | dvairathenāstu vai śāntis tava vā mama vā nṛpa ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “If you do not wish to gamble with dice, then let the gambling of war begin—waged with arrows. O king, let peace be secured for either you or me through a duel of chariots.”
बृहदश्चव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two forms of ‘wager’: dice-gambling and war. It implies an ethical preference for a decisive, rule-bound martial resolution (a regulated duel) over the corrosive, deceptive instability of dice, framing conflict as something that should be concluded with clarity and accountability.
Bṛhadaśva addresses a king and proposes an alternative to dice-play: if the king refuses gambling, then let the contest shift to a chariot-duel—single combat with arrows—so that the dispute is settled and peace results for one side or the other.