Shloka 48
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
त्यजेत सर्वा पृथिवीं समृद्धां युधिष्ठटिरो धर्ममथो न जह्यात् उक्त जितो5स्मीति च पाण्डवेन तस्मान्न शक््नोमि विवेक्तुमेतत्,मेरा विश्वास है कि धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर धन-समृद्धिसे भरी हुई इस सारी पृथ्वीको त्याग सकते हैं, किंतु धर्मको नहीं छोड़ सकते। इन पाण्डुनन्दनने स्वयं कहा है कि मैं अपनेको हार गया; अतः मैं इस प्रश्नका विवेचन नहीं कर सकता
tyajet sarvāṃ pṛthivīṃ samṛddhāṃ yudhiṣṭhiro dharmam atho na jahyāt | uktaṃ jito ’smīti ca pāṇḍavena tasmān na śaknomi vivektum etat ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Ta tin rằng Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira có thể từ bỏ cả cõi đất phồn thịnh này, nhưng không bao giờ từ bỏ dharma. Và vì người con của Pāṇḍu ấy đã tự nói: ‘Ta đã bị thắng/đã thua’, nên ta không thể phân xử việc này.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s defining trait: unwavering commitment to dharma. Even if he could renounce worldly sovereignty, he would not renounce righteousness. Yet Bhīṣma also points to a moral-legal constraint: because Yudhiṣṭhira himself declared ‘I am won,’ Bhīṣma refrains from giving a decisive ruling, showing how spoken commitments can bind ethical deliberation in royal assemblies.
In the aftermath of the dice-game stakes, a dispute arises about what can be claimed and what is validly lost. Bhīṣma is asked to judge, but he notes that Yudhiṣṭhira—known for dharma—has already stated that he has been ‘won/defeated.’ Because of that explicit declaration, Bhīṣma says he cannot clearly decide the issue.