Shloka 28
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
निकर्तने देवने योउद्धितीय- श्छन्नोपथ: साधुदेवी मताक्ष: । यो दुर्जयो देवरथेन संख्ये स चित्रसेन: कुशलं तात वाच्य:
nikartane devane yo ’dvitīyaś channopathaḥ sādhudevīmatākṣaḥ | yo durjayo devarathena saṅkhye sa citrasenaḥ kuśalaṃ tāta vācyaḥ ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「親しき者よ、チトラセーナ（Citrasena）にも、私の敬意をこめた安否の問いを伝えてくれ。彼は賭博と骰子の術において比類なく、策を胸に秘め、計算し尽くした技で勝負し、骰子を投げることに通じている。しかも戦場においても、たとえ相手が神の戦車に乗ろうとも、容易には打ち破れぬ者だ。彼の無事を問うて、私に報告してくれ。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when describing a person skilled in morally ambiguous arts like gambling and deception, the speaker maintains disciplined speech and diplomatic propriety—inquiring after welfare rather than indulging in praise of vice. The verse highlights the tension between skill (kauśala) and ethics (dharma), and how righteous conduct often expresses itself through restraint and correct social address.
Yudhiṣṭhira instructs someone (addressed as ‘tāta’) to convey greetings and ask after the well-being of Citrasena, portraying him as exceptionally skilled in dice-play and also formidable in battle—so formidable that even a warrior on a divine chariot would find him hard to defeat.