Shloka 28
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Restraint and the Pāṇḍavas’ Authorized Return (धृतराष्ट्र-उपदेशः)
शकुनि बोला--कुन्तीनन्दन! आप अपने भाइयों और हाथी-घोड़ोंसहित बहुत धन हार चुके, अब आपके पास बिना हारा हुआ धन कोई अवशिष्ट हो, तो बतलाइये ।। युधिछिर उवाच अहं विशिष्ट: सर्वेषां भ्रातृणां दयितस्तथा । कुर्यामहं जित: कर्म स्वयमात्मन्युपप्लुते,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--मैं अपने सब भाइयोंमें बड़ा और सबका प्रिय हूँ; अतः अपनेको ही दाँवपर लगाता हूँ। यदि मैं हार गया तो पराजित दासकी भाँति सब कार्य करूँगा
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ahaṃ viśiṣṭaḥ sarveṣāṃ bhrātṝṇāṃ dayitas tathā | kuryām ahaṃ jitaḥ karma svayam ātmany upaplute ||
Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Ta là anh cả trong số các huynh đệ, lại được họ thương mến. Vì thế, ta đem chính bản thân mình ra đặt cược. Nếu ta bị đánh bại, thì như một nô lệ bị chinh phục, ta sẽ làm mọi việc theo điều người ta áp đặt.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that can occur when honor and compulsive adherence to a flawed code override discernment: Yudhiṣṭhira, identifying himself as the responsible elder, accepts self-enslavement as the consequence of defeat, showing how dharma can be misapplied when judgment is clouded.
During the dice match engineered by Śakuni, after Yudhiṣṭhira has already lost wealth and possessions, he is pressed to declare anything remaining unlost. Yudhiṣṭhira responds by wagering his own person, agreeing that if he loses he will serve like a defeated slave.