Shloka 73

Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement

Devanagari script

विषमं शकुनेश्वैव तव चैव विशाम्पते । “इस समय आपने पहलेके समान ही पुनः यह जूएका खेल आरम्भ कर दिया है। प्रजानाथ! आपका यह जूआ शकुनिके जूएसे कहीं अधिक भयंकर है

Transliteration

viṣamaṃ śakuneś caiva tava caiva viśāmpate |

Translation

ข้าแต่เจ้าแห่งปวงประชา! บัดนี้พระองค์ได้เริ่มการเล่นสกากลับขึ้นอีกครั้งดังแต่ก่อน และการเสี่ยงพนันของพระองค์นี้ร้ายแรงยิ่งกว่าการพนันของศกุนีเสียอีก

Word by Word

विषमम्uneven; difficult; terrible

शकुनेःof Shakuni

एवindeed; just; even

तवof you; your

चand

एवindeed; just

विशाम्पतेO lord of the people

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Śakuni

viśāmpati (the king addressed, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s choices can become a ‘game of dice’ with catastrophic stakes; repeating past errors—especially those rooted in greed, delusion, or attachment—invites greater ruin than even an enemy’s deceit. Ethical governance requires restraint, clear judgment, and learning from prior downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses the king as ‘lord of the people’ and warns that the present course of action is dangerously misguided, likening it to restarting the infamous dice-game associated with Śakuni—implying that the king is again courting calamity through reckless decisions.