Shloka 131

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच 52886: 4 २#44028 निकृतिं समुपाश्रित: । शकुनिर्युधिष्ठटिरमभाषत

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | nikṛtiṃ samupāśritaḥ | śakunir yudhiṣṭhiram abhāṣata |

Translation

وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا—فریب و مکر کی تدبیروں کا سہارا لے کر شکُنی نے یُدھِشٹھِر سے خطاب کیا۔

Word by Word

• वैशम्पायनः: Vaiśampāyana
• वैशम्पायनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैशम्पायन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• निकृतिम्: deceit, fraud
• निकृतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निकृति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• समुपाश्रितः: having resorted to, having taken refuge in
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उप-आ-श्रि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle), Passive (PPP usage)

• शकुनिः: Śakuni
• शकुनिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकुनि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• युधिष्ठिरम्: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अभाषत: spoke (to), addressed
• Type: Verb
• Root: भाष्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Śakuni
• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical contrast between dharma and nikṛti (deceit): when a situation is engineered through fraud, even a virtuous person can be pressured into harmful choices. It warns that the moral quality of an action is shaped not only by intent but also by the integrity of the means and the context created by others.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator indicates that Śakuni, adopting deceitful tactics, begins speaking to Yudhiṣṭhira—introducing the manipulative approach that will drive the dice-game episode, where Yudhiṣṭhira is coaxed into a perilous wager under unfair conditions.