Shloka 18
ते वा द्वादश वर्षाणि वयं वा द्यूतनिर्जिता: । प्रविशेम महारण्यमजिनै: प्रतिवासिता:,जूएमें हार जानेपर वे या हम मृगचर्म धारण करके महान् वनमें प्रवेश करें और बारह वर्षतक वनमें ही निवास करें
te vā dvādaśa varṣāṇi vayaṁ vā dyūta-nirjitāḥ | praviśema mahāraṇyam ajinaiḥ prativāsitāḥ ||
दुर्योधन उवाच—ते वा वयं वा द्यूते निर्जिताः, अजिनधराः, महारण्यं प्रविशेम; द्वादश वर्षाणि तत्रैव निवसेम।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how high-stakes gambling can be framed as a binding ‘agreement’ with severe consequences, raising ethical questions about consent, fairness, and the misuse of social-legal forms to legitimize harm.
Duryodhana proposes a condition for the dice contest: whichever side loses must go into exile—entering the great forest, wearing deerskins, and living there for twelve years—thus formalizing the punitive stakes of the game.