Shloka 8
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
युधिछिर उवाच पुरं जनपदो भूमिरब्राह्मणधनै: सह । अब्राह्मणाश्व पुरुषा राजज्छिष्टं धनं मम । एतदू राजन् मम धन तेन दीव्याम्यहं त्वया
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | puraṃ janapado bhūmir abrāhmaṇadhanaiḥ saha | abrāhmaṇāś ca puruṣā rājaśiṣṭaṃ dhanaṃ mama | etad u rājann mama dhanaṃ tena dīvyāmy ahaṃ tvayā |
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O Hari! Bukod sa mga nayon at yamang naipagkaloob na sa mga Brahmana bilang ikabubuhay, ang natitira—ang lungsod, mga lalawigan, mga lupain na nasa aking kapangyarihan, at ang mga taong hindi Brahmana na naninirahan sa ilalim ng aking pamamahala—iyan ang nalalabi kong yaman. O Śakuni, iyan ang itataya ko upang makipagsugal sa iyo.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between royal responsibility and personal vice: a king’s ‘remaining wealth’—territory and subjects—should be protected, yet Yudhiṣṭhira treats it as stake in gambling, signaling a lapse from dharma and foreshadowing grave consequences.
During the dice match in the royal assembly, Yudhiṣṭhira declares that after excluding what has been granted to Brahmins, his remaining assets—city, realm, land, and non-Brahmin dependents—are still his to wager, and he proposes to stake them in play against his opponent.