Shloka 12

सभा-पर्व, अध्याय 56: विदुरस्य द्यूत-निन्दा

Vidura’s Censure of Dicing and Warning to the Kurus

Devanagari script

अनर्थमर्थ मन्यसे राजपुत्र संग्रन्थनं कलहस्याति घोरम्‌ । तद्‌ वै प्रवृत्तं तु यथा कथंचित्‌ सृजेदसीन्‌ निशितान्‌ सायकांश्ष

Transliteration

anartham arthaṁ manyase rājaputra saṁgranthanaṁ kalahasyāti ghoram | tad vai pravṛttaṁ tu yathā kathaṁcit sṛjed asīn niśitān sāyakāṁś ca |

Translation

Дурьодхана сказал: «О царевич, ты принимаешь истинную погибель за выгоду — эту игру в кости, что связывает распрю и страшна без меры. Стоит ей начаться, пусть даже случайно, — и она породит острые мечи и тучи стрел».

Word by Word

• {'anartha': 'harm, calamity, misfortune

• that which is not beneficial', 'artha': 'gain, advantage

• also ‘purpose/wealth’ depending on context', 'manyase': 'you think, you suppose', 'rājaputra': 'king’s son

• prince', 'saṁgranthana': 'binding together, weaving, fastening

• here: ‘that which entangles/knits’', 'kalaha': 'quarrel, dispute, strife', 'ati-ghora': 'exceedingly terrible, very dreadful', 'tad vai': 'indeed that (very thing)', 'pravṛtta': 'set in motion, begun, commenced', 'yathā kathaṁcit': 'somehow, by any means, in some way or other', 'sṛjet': 'would produce, would generate, would bring forth', 'asī(n)': 'swords (accusative plural of asi)', 'niśita': 'sharpened, whetted', 'sāyaka': 'arrow, missile', 'ca': 'and'}

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• rājaputra (the addressed prince)
• dyūta (gambling, implied by context)
• asi (sword)
• sāyaka (arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns against mistaking destructive pleasures for real benefit: gambling is portrayed as a force that entangles people in quarrel and, once initiated, can escalate inexorably into violence and war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana addresses a prince and cautions that the gambling enterprise—once started—will not remain a mere game; it will bind the parties into escalating hostility, ultimately producing weapons and warfare.