अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
द्यूतं॑ कृत्वा पुरा हृष्ो वज्चयित्वा च पाण्डवान्
dyūtaṃ kṛtvā purā hṛṣṭo vañcayitvā ca pāṇḍavān
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: Dahulu kala, setelah terlibat dalam permainan dadu, dia menjadi mabuk kemenangan—dan dengan tipu daya dia memperdaya para Pāṇḍava. Baris ini mengingatkan noda moral perjudian dan penipuan yang turut menghala perjalanan menuju bencana perang yang kemudian meletus.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights adharma in the form of gambling and deception: delight taken in winning through fraud becomes a moral fault that contributes to wider suffering, reminding the listener that unethical means corrupt outcomes and can ignite large-scale conflict.
Vaiśaṃpāyana briefly recalls the earlier dice episode in which the Pāṇḍavas were cheated; this recollection functions as a causal reminder—an earlier act of deceit that helped drive events toward the Kurukṣetra war described in the Karṇa Parva.