Mahabharata 4.13.5 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 5
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 13 — Kīcaka’s Proposition and Draupadī’s Dharmic Refusal
स हाक्षह्ददयज्ञस्तान् क्रीडयामास पाण्डव: । अक्षवत्यां यथाकामं सूत्रबद्धानिव द्विजान्
sa hākṣahṛdayajñas tān krīḍayāmāsa pāṇḍavaḥ | akṣavatyāṃ yathākāmaṃ sūtrabaddhān iva dvijān |
ആ പാണ്ഡവൻ അക്ഷക്രീഡയുടെ ഹൃദയം അറിയുന്നവൻ; അവരെ കളിപ്പിച്ചു. ദ്യൂതശാലയിൽ തനിക്കിഷ്ടമുള്ളപോലെ പാശങ്ങൾ എറിഞ്ഞു—സൂത്രത്തിൽ ബന്ധിച്ച പക്ഷികളെ ഇഷ്ടംപോലെ പറത്തുന്നതുപോലെ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Skill and power become ethical only when governed by restraint and purpose. Yudhiṣṭhira’s mastery of dice—once the cause of ruin—here is depicted as controlled and instrumental, serving concealment and duty rather than addiction or greed.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito stay in Virāṭa’s kingdom, Yudhiṣṭhira (in his court role) participates in dice-play. The verse portrays him as so adept that he can direct the game at will, likened to making string-bound birds fly as one pleases.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.