Shloka 17
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
शकुनिरुवाच माद्रीपुत्रौ प्रियौ राजंस्तवेमौ विजितौ मया । गरीयांसौ तु ते मन्ये भीमसेनधनंजयौ
śakunir uvāca mādrīputrau priyau rājan tavemau vijitau mayā | garīyāṃsau tu te manye bhīmasenadhanaṃjayau ||
Wika ni Śakuni: “O Hari! Ang dalawang minamahal mong anak ni Mādrī—sina Nakula at Sahadeva—ay napanalunan ko na. Ngunit para sa akin, higit na mabigat at marangal para sa iyo sina Bhīmasena at Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna); kaya nga hindi mo sila itinataya sa sugal.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unethical persuasion exploits attachment and pride: Śakuni frames Bhīma and Arjuna as Yudhiṣṭhira’s greatest ‘honor’ to provoke further staking, showing how adharma advances by manipulating values rather than by force.
During the dice match in the royal assembly, Śakuni announces that Nakula and Sahadeva have already been won and then taunts Yudhiṣṭhira by implying he is withholding the more ‘important’ brothers—Bhīma and Arjuna—thereby pressuring him to continue the ruinous game.