Shloka 26
Gandhārī’s Lament for Bhūriśravas and Śakuni
Book 11, Chapter 24
मायया निकृतिप्रज्ञो जितवान् यो युधिष्ठिरम् । सभायां विपुलं राज्यं स पु]नर्जीवितं जित:,जो छलविद्याका पण्डित था, जिसने द्यूतसभामें मायाद्वारा युधिष्ठिर तथा उनके विशाल राज्यको जीत लिया था, वही फिर अपना जीवन भी हार गया
māyayā nikṛtiprajño jitavān yo yudhiṣṭhiram | sabhāyāṃ vipulaṃ rājyaṃ sa punar jīvitam api jitaḥ ||
ಛಲವೂ ಮಾಯೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ನಿಪುಣನಾಗಿ ರಾಜಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನನ್ನೂ ಅವನ ವಿಶಾಲ ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನೂ ಜಯಿಸಿದವನೇ, ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಸೋತು ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಾಣವನ್ನೂ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡನು.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory obtained through māyā (deceit) is unstable and morally self-defeating; adharma rebounds upon the doer, leading ultimately to downfall—even to the loss of life.
The narrator recalls the gambler who used deception to win Yudhiṣṭhira’s vast kingdom in the assembly; later, that same person is himself overcome and loses his life, highlighting retributive consequence in the epic’s moral frame.