Mahabharata (Gita Press) 3.13.4 - Vana Parva, Adhyaya 13, Shloka 4
Book 3 (Āraṇyaka-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Alliance Gathering; Arjuna’s Praise of Keśava; Draupadī’s Duḥkha-nivedana; Assurances and Vows
पुत्राणां तव राजेन्द्र त्वन्निमित्तमिति प्रभो । तत्राचक्षमहं दोषान् यैर्भवान् व्यतिरोपित:
putrāṇāṁ tava rājendra tvannimittam iti prabho | tatrācakṣam ahaṁ doṣān yair bhavān vyatiropitaḥ ||
Vāyu berkata: “Wahai raja segala raja, wahai tuanku—aku menyatakan bahawa kesalahan itu terletak pada putera-puteramu, dan bahawa semuanya terjadi juga kerana dirimu. Di dalam perhimpunan itu sendiri aku menunjukkan keburukan-keburukan (perjudian) yang menyebabkan engkau dilucutkan dan disingkirkan (daripada kerajaanmu yang sah).”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores moral accountability and the destructive consequences of gambling: a ruler must recognize and restrain harmful impulses (especially within one’s own family), because such vices can lead to loss of sovereignty, honor, and social order.
Vāyu recalls how, in the relevant assembly, he explicitly pointed out the faults connected with the dice-game—faults that became the cause of the king’s dispossession and exile—framing the calamity as arising from the sons’ wrongdoing and the chain of causation tied to the king’s situation.
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