Shloka 47
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
भीष्म उवाच न धर्मसौक्ष्म्यात् सुभगे विवेक्तु शवनोमि ते प्रश्नमिम॑ यथावत् । अस्वाम्यशक्त: पणितुं परस्वं स्त्रियाश्व भर्तुर्वशतां समीक्ष्य
bhīṣma uvāca | na dharmasaukṣmyāt subhage vivektuṃ śaknomi te praśnam imaṃ yathāvat | asvāmy-aśaktaḥ paṇituṃ parasvaṃ striyāś ca bhartur vaśatāṃ samīkṣya ||
भीष्म उवाच—सुभगे, धर्मस्य सूक्ष्मत्वात् तव प्रश्नमिमं यथावत् सम्यग् विवेक्तुं न शक्नोमि। अस्वामी परस्वं पणितुं नाधिकारवान्; स्त्री च भर्तुर्वशगता इति लोके दृष्टिः। एतेषां परस्परविरोधिनां तत्त्वानां समीक्ष्य मम निर्णयो नोपपद्यते।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma can be so subtle that even a wise elder hesitates to issue a clear verdict when principles conflict—here, the rule that only an owner may wager property versus the social-legal assumption of a पत्नी being under her husband’s authority.
Bhishma responds to a woman’s pointed question arising from the dice-game context: whether someone lacking rightful ownership can stake another person/wealth. He acknowledges the general prohibition, but notes the prevailing view of a wife’s dependence on her husband, and therefore refrains from a decisive judgment.