Shloka 7

Adhyāya 59: Vidura’s Admonition to Duryodhana after the Summons of Draupadī (सभा पर्व)

Devanagari script

शकुनिरुवाच यो वेत्ति संख्यां निकृती विधिज्ञ- श्रेष्टास्वखिन्न: कितवो$क्षजासु । महामतिर्यश्न जानाति द्यूतं स वै सर्व सहते प्रक्रियासु,शकुनि बोला--जिस अंकपर पासा पड़ता है, उसे जो पहले ही समझ लेता है, जो शठताका प्रतीकार करना जानता है एवं पासे फेंकने आदि समस्त व्यापारोंमें उत्साहपूर्वक लगा रहता है तथा जो परम बुद्धिमान्‌ पुरुष द्यूतक्रीड़ाविषयक सब बातोंकी जानकारी रखता है, वही जूएका असली खिलाड़ी है; वह द्यूतक्रीड़ामें दूसरोंकी सारी शठतापूर्ण चेष्टाओंको सह लेता है

Transliteration

śakunir uvāca—yo vetti saṅkhyāṃ nikṛtī vidhijñaḥ śreṣṭāsv akhinnaḥ kitavo ’kṣajāsū | mahāmatir yaś ca jānāti dyūtaṃ sa vai sarvaṃ sahate prakriyāsu ||

Translation

Śakuni berkata: “Penjudi yang benar-benar mahir ialah dia yang dapat meramal jatuhnya dadu, yang memahami aturan serta seni tipu daya, yang tidak patah semangat walau berhadapan lawan terbaik dalam permainan dadu, dan yang—dengan akal yang tajam—mengetahui setiap tata cara perjudian. Pemain demikian mampu menahan dan mengatasi segala helah licik yang timbul sepanjang permainan.”

Word by Word

शकुनिःShakuni

उवाचsaid

यःwho

वेत्तिknows

संख्याम्the number/count

निकृतिम्deceit/cheating

विधिज्ञ-श्रेष्टःbest among those who know the rules/procedure

अखिन्नःunwearied, untiring

कितवःgambler

अक्षजासुin dice-throws / in matters arising from dice

महामतिःa very intelligent man

यःwho

जानातिknows

द्यूतम्gambling, dice-play

सःhe

वैindeed, surely

सर्वम्everything

सहतेendures, bears

प्रक्रियासुin the procedures/operations (moves, dealings)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śakuni

dice (akṣa)

dyūta (gambling/dice-game)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ‘expertise’ in gambling as mastery of prediction, procedure, and deception—highlighting how a practice rooted in trickery can masquerade as skill. In the ethical context of the Sabha, it implicitly exposes gambling as a domain where adharma (manipulation and fraud) is normalized and where the righteous can be trapped by formal rules and social pressure.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Kuru court during the dice-match episode, Śakuni speaks about what makes a ‘real’ dice-player—someone who anticipates outcomes, knows the rules, and can withstand or deploy deceit in the course of play. This sets the tone for the impending exploitation of Yudhiṣṭhira through a rigged and strategically manipulated game.