Shloka 21

अक्षदेवन-प्रवर्तनम् | Commencement of the Dice Game

Devanagari script

शतान्यनडुहां पज्च द्विजमुख्येषु भारत । न रन्तिदेवो नाभागो यौवनाश्वो मनुर्न च

Transliteration

śatāny anaḍuhāṃ pañca dvijamukhyeṣu bhārata | na rantidevo nābhāgo yauvanāśvo manur na ca ||

Translation

Duryodhana nói: “Hỡi Bhārata, năm trăm con bò đực đã được phân phát cho các brāhmaṇa hàng đầu. Không phải Rantideva, không phải Nābhāga, không phải Yauvanāśva, ngay cả Manu cũng không có được phú quý đế vương như vua Yudhiṣṭhira đang phô bày hôm nay.”

Word by Word

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• अनडुहाम्: of bulls/oxen
• अनडुहाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनडुह्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च
• Form: true

• द्विजमुख्येषु: among the foremost Brahmins
• द्विजमुख्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजमुख्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• भारत: O Bharata
• भारत: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: true

• रन्तिदेवः: Rantideva
• रन्तिदेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रन्तिदेव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: nor/not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: true

• आभागः: Ābhāga (a king)
• आभागः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आभाग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यौवनाश्वः: Yauvanāśva (a king)
• यौवनाश्वः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौवनाश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मनुः: Manu
• मनुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: nor/not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: true

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: true

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Bhārata (address)
• brāhmaṇas (dvija-mukhya)
• bulls/oxen (anaḍuh)
• Rantideva
• Nābhāga
• Yauvanāśva
• Manu
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Arjuna (implied by the accompanying narrative context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dāna as a public marker of righteous kingship—supporting brāhmaṇas and distributing wealth—while also revealing how such displays can provoke envy and competitive comparison, especially in Duryodhana’s gaze.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the context of Yudhiṣṭhira’s grand royal ceremony and courtly display, lavish gifts are being distributed—here, five hundred bulls to leading brāhmaṇas. Duryodhana comments that even legendary kings did not possess prosperity like Yudhiṣṭhira’s, a remark colored by admiration mixed with jealousy.