Shloka 26

Dyūta-kathā-praśnaḥ — Inquiry into the Dice-Game Calamity

Devanagari script

अद्यप्रभृति भद्रें वः प्रतिज्ञां मे निबोधत । त्रयोदश समास्तात को ममार्थो5स्ति जीवत:

Transliteration

adyaprabhṛti bhadreṃ vaḥ pratijñāṃ me nibodhata | trayodaśa samās tāta ko mamārtho 'sti jīvataḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Mulai hari ini, wahai yang diberkati, ketahuilah ikrarku. Wahai yang dikasihi, apakah gunanya aku hidup tiga belas tahun, jika kelangsungan hidupku menjadi sebab kebinasaan saudara-saudaraku? Jika aku harus hidup juga, maka dengarlah azamku yang suci ini mulai hari ini.”

Word by Word

• {'adyaprabhṛti': 'from today onward', 'bhadram': 'good fortune

• auspiciousness', 'vaḥ': 'to you (plural)', 'pratijñā': 'vow

• solemn pledge', 'me': 'my', 'nibodhata': 'understand

• take note (imperative, plural)', 'trayodaśa': 'thirteen', 'samāḥ (samās)': 'years', 'tāta': 'dear one

• child (vocative, affectionate address)', 'kaḥ': 'what?', 'mama': 'of me

• my', 'arthaḥ': 'purpose

• meaning', 'asti': 'is', 'jīvataḥ': 'of one who is living

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes ethical accountability: life and survival have value only when aligned with dharma. If one’s continued existence would enable harm—especially the ruin of one’s own kin—then one must adopt a firm vow and disciplined resolve to prevent that outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator introduces a moment of intense resolve: a speaker declares that living for a long period (thirteen years) is meaningless if it leads to the destruction of brothers, and therefore proclaims a vow to guide conduct from that day onward.