Shloka 21
Adhyāya 48 — Duryodhana’s Account of Tribute and the Provisioned Court (सभा पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
तस्याक्षकुशलो राजन्नादास्येडहमसंशयम् | राज्यं श्रियं च तां दीप्तां त्वदर्थ पुरुषर्षभ,नरश्रेष्ठ! मैं पासा फेंकनेमें कुशल हूँ; अतः युधिष्ठिरके राज्य तथा देदीप्यमान राजलक्ष्मीको तुम्हारे लिये अवश्य प्राप्त कर लूँगा, इसमें संशय नहीं है
tasyākṣa-kuśalo rājann ādāsye ’ham asaṁśayam | rājyaṁ śriyaṁ ca tāṁ dīptāṁ tvad-arthaṁ puruṣarṣabha ||
Duryodhana berkata: “Wahai Raja, aku mahir dalam permainan dadu; tanpa ragu aku akan menang. Demi tuanku, wahai insan terunggul, aku pasti akan memperoleh kerajaan itu dan kemuliaan diraja yang menyala-nyala.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how confidence in skill, when tied to greed and political ambition, becomes a vehicle for adharma: the speaker treats sovereignty and Śrī as prizes to be seized through gambling, foreshadowing moral collapse and social catastrophe.
In the royal assembly context, Duryodhana declares to the king he addresses that he is an expert at dice and will certainly win—promising to secure the rival’s kingdom and royal prosperity for that king’s benefit, setting the stage for the fateful dice contest.