Mahabharata 3.13.14 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 14
Book 3 (Āraṇyaka-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Alliance Gathering; Arjuna’s Praise of Keśava; Draupadī’s Duḥkha-nivedana; Assurances and Vows
असांनिध्यं तु कौरव्य ममानर्तेष्वभूत् तदा | येनेदं व्यसन प्राप्ता भवन्तो द्यूतकारितम्,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! मैं उन दिनों आनर्तदेशमें ही नहीं था, इसीलिये आपलोगोंपर यह द्यूतजनित संकट आ गया
asānnidhyaṃ tu kauravya mamānarteṣv abhūt tadā | yenedaṃ vyasanaṃ prāptā bhavanto dyūtakāritam kuruśreṣṭha |
Vāyu berkata: “Wahai keturunan Kuru, pada waktu itu aku tidak hadir di negeri Ānarta. Kerana ketiadaan itulah, wahai yang terbaik antara kaum Kuru, kamu semua jatuh ke dalam malapetaka ini—bencana yang ditimbulkan oleh perlawanan judi.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames gambling as an ethically destructive cause of ruin (vyasana) and highlights how the absence of a protective or guiding presence can allow adharma-driven events to unfold. It implicitly warns that dyūta (gambling) invites calamity and social collapse.
Vāyu addresses a Kuru prince and explains that he was not present in Ānarta at the relevant time; due to that absence, the Kuru heroes suffered a crisis brought on by the dice-game—an allusion to the chain of events triggered by the infamous gambling match.
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