Shloka 49
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
द्यूतेडद्धितीय: शकुनिनरिषु कुन्तीसुतस्तेन निसृष्टकाम: । न मन्यते तां निकृतिं युधिष्ठिर- स्तस्मान्न ते प्रश्नमिमं ब्रवीमि
dyūte ’dvitīyaḥ śakunir nṛṣu kuntīsutas tena nisṛṣṭakāmaḥ | na manyate tāṁ nikṛtiṁ yudhiṣṭhiras tasmān na te praśnam imaṁ bravīmi ||
Bhishma disse: “Entre os homens, Shakuni é incomparável na arte do jogo. Foi ele quem agitou o filho de Kunti, Yudhishthira, e pôs seu desejo em movimento—até levá-lo ao ponto de apostar-te. Contudo, Yudhishthira não considera isso um engano de Shakuni. Por isso, não posso expor devidamente a questão que me fizeste.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a harmful act is driven by another’s manipulation, ethical clarity depends on recognizing deceit as deceit. Bhishma implies that when Yudhishthira refuses to see Shakuni’s fraud, meaningful moral analysis and corrective counsel become difficult.
During the dice-game episode, Bhishma identifies Shakuni as the unrivalled gambler who has provoked Yudhishthira into the desire to stake Draupadi. Because Yudhishthira does not acknowledge Shakuni’s trickery, Bhishma says he cannot fully address the question posed to him.