Shloka 19
Kāmyake Arjuna-viyogaḥ — The Pandavas’ despondency in Kāmyaka during Arjuna’s absence
वेदाक्षह्वदयं कृत्स्नमहं सत्यपराक्रम । उपपद्यस्व कौन्तेय प्रसन्नो5हं ब्रवीमि ते,सत्यपराक्रमी कुन्तीनन्दन! मैं ह्यूतविद्याके सम्पूर्ण हृदय (रहस्य)-को जानता हूँ, तुम उसे ग्रहण कर लो। मैं प्रसन्न होकर तुम्हें बतलाता हूँ
Bṛhadaśva uvāca | vedākṣahṛdayaṁ kṛtsnam ahaṁ satyaparākrama | upapadyasva kaunteya prasanno ’haṁ bravīmi te ||
Bṛhadaśva said: “O truth-valiant son of Kuntī, I know in full the very heart—the inner secret—of the science of dice. Accept it, O Kaunteya; I am pleased, and I will tell it to you.”
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames specialized knowledge (here, the ‘heart’ of dice-play) as something to be transmitted responsibly: the teacher offers it only when pleased and to a worthy recipient. In the ethical context of Yudhiṣṭhira’s past loss through gambling, the implied lesson is that understanding the mechanics and psychology of gambling is necessary for restraint and wise kingship, not for indulgence.
In the forest exile, the sage-king Bṛhadaśva addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (Kaunteya). He declares that he knows completely the inner secret of the science of dice and, being favorably disposed, invites Yudhiṣṭhira to accept this instruction as he prepares to explain it.