Shloka 9
विदुर-धृतराष्ट्रसंवादः
Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Dialogue on Rajadharma and Restitution
समाहूतः केनचिदाद्रवेति नाहं शक्तो भीमसेनापयातुम् | गाण्डीवे च संशयिते कथं नु राज्यप्राप्ति: संशयिता भवेन्न:,'भीमसेन! आओ, कहकर यदि कोई मुझे (युद्ध या द्यूतके लिये) बुलावे तो मैं पीछे नहीं हट सकता। ऐसी दशामें यदि हम गाण्डीव धनुष किसी तरह जूएमें हार गये तो हमारी राज्य-प्राप्ति संशयमें पड़ जायगी”
samāhūtaḥ kenacid ādraveti nāhaṃ śakto bhīmasenāpayātum | gāṇḍīve ca saṃśayite kathaṃ nu rājyaprāptiḥ saṃśayitā bhaven naḥ |
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: “O Bhīmasena, kung may tumawag sa akin at magsabing, ‘Halika agad!’, hindi ko magagawang magpigil o umurong. At kung sa gayong kalagayan ay mawala sa sugal ang busog na Gāṇḍīva, malalagay sa pag-aalinlangan maging ang pagbawi natin sa kaharian.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethic of responding to a summons and not retreating from a challenge, while also warning that reckless entanglement (such as gambling away crucial assets like the Gāṇḍīva) can jeopardize the righteous goal of restoring kingship.
The speaker frames a scenario addressed to Bhīma: if an urgent call compels immediate action, there may be no room to withdraw; and if, amid such pressures, the Pāṇḍavas were to lose the Gāṇḍīva in a dice-game, their prospects of regaining the kingdom would become uncertain.