Shloka 14
Book 3 (Āraṇyaka-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Alliance Gathering; Arjuna’s Praise of Keśava; Draupadī’s Duḥkha-nivedana; Assurances and Vows
असांनिध्यं तु कौरव्य ममानर्तेष्वभूत् तदा | येनेदं व्यसन प्राप्ता भवन्तो द्यूतकारितम्,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! मैं उन दिनों आनर्तदेशमें ही नहीं था, इसीलिये आपलोगोंपर यह द्यूतजनित संकट आ गया
asānnidhyaṃ tu kauravya mamānarteṣv abhūt tadā | yenedaṃ vyasanaṃ prāptā bhavanto dyūtakāritam kuruśreṣṭha |
కౌరవవంశజా! ఆ సమయంలో నేను ఆనర్తదేశంలో సమీపంలో లేను; ఆ అనుపస్థితి వల్లనే, కురుశ్రేష్ఠా, మీకు జూదం వల్ల కలిగిన ఈ విపత్తు సంభవించింది।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames gambling as an ethically destructive cause of ruin (vyasana) and highlights how the absence of a protective or guiding presence can allow adharma-driven events to unfold. It implicitly warns that dyūta (gambling) invites calamity and social collapse.
Vāyu addresses a Kuru prince and explains that he was not present in Ānarta at the relevant time; due to that absence, the Kuru heroes suffered a crisis brought on by the dice-game—an allusion to the chain of events triggered by the infamous gambling match.