सभा-पर्व (अध्याय ६०) — द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः सभायाम् / Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly
एतदू राजन् मम धन प्रतिपाणो5स्ति कस्तव । येन मां त्वं महाराज धनेन प्रतिदीव्यसे
etad u rājān mama dhana pratipāṇo 'sti kas tava | yena māṁ tvaṁ mahārāja dhanena pratidīvyase ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Raja, inilah pertaruhanku untuk menandingi kekayaan tuanku. Maka, wahai raja agung, apakah taruhan balas tuanku untuk berjudi denganku dengan harta?”
युधिछिर उवाच
The verse highlights the ethical tension in wagering: a fair contest requires a legitimate counter-stake, yet the very framing of relationships and honor as “stakes” foreshadows how gambling can erode dharma by turning persons and duties into objects of exchange.
In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to the king he is playing against, stating what he is putting up as his stake and asking what the opponent will put forward as a matching counter-stake to gamble against him.