Shloka 3
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti
Chapter 50
विस्तरेणैतदिच्छामि कथ्यमान त्वया द्विज | मूलं होतद् विनाशस्य पृथिव्या द्विजसत्तम,ब्रह्मन! मैं इस प्रसंगको आपके मुखसे विस्तारपूर्वक सुनना चाहता हूँ। विप्रवर! यह द्यूत ही समस्त भूमण्डलके विनाशका मुख्य कारण है
vistareṇaitad icchāmi kathyamānaṃ tvayā dvija | mūlaṃ hy etad vināśasya pṛthivyā dvijasattama ||
Janamejaya berkata: “Aku ingin mendengar hal ini daripadamu dengan terperinci, wahai yang dua kali lahir. Wahai Brahmana yang termulia, perjudian inilah sesungguhnya punca kebinasaan bumi; maka ceritakanlah kepadaku dengan jelas dan panjang lebar.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames gambling (dyūta) as a destructive vice with far-reaching social and political consequences, implying that a ruler’s and society’s downfall can begin from moral weakness and addiction rather than from external enemies.
King Janamejaya urges the Brahmin narrator to recount the episode in full detail, emphasizing that the gambling affair is the fundamental cause behind the catastrophic unraveling of events affecting the whole world.