Shloka 4

Devanagari script

सहदेव उवाच शकुनिस्त्वां यदाजैषीदक्षद्यूतेन भारत । स मया न हतत्तत्र तेन प्राप्ता: सम संशयम्‌,सहदेवने कहा--भारत! जब शकुनिने आपको जूएमें जीत लिया और उस समय मैंने उसे मार नहीं डाला, उसीका यह फल है कि आज हमलोग धर्मसंकटमें पड़ गये हैं

Transliteration

sahadeva uvāca | śakunis tvāṃ yadājaiṣīd akṣadyūtena bhārata | sa mayā na hataḥ tatra tena prāptāḥ sma saṃśayam ||

Translation

Sahadeva nói: “Hỡi Bhārata! Khi Śakuni đánh bại huynh trong ván xúc xắc, ta đã không giết hắn ngay lúc ấy. Hậu quả của sự bỏ lỡ đó chính là đây: hôm nay chúng ta rơi vào cơn nghi hoặc và hiểm nguy nặng nề, mắc kẹt trong một cuộc khủng hoảng của dharma.”

Word by Word

सहदेवःSahadeva

उवाचsaid

शकुनिःShakuni

त्वाम्you

यत्that (fact) which

अजैषीत्won, conquered

अक्षद्यूतेनby dice-play, by gambling

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

सःhe

मयाby me

नnot

हतःkilled

तत्रthere, at that time/place

तेनby that, because of that

प्राप्ताःhave reached, have come to

स्मःwe are

संशयम्doubt, peril, predicament

Speaker

सहदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sahadeva

Śakuni

Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights moral responsibility and the consequences of failing to act at a decisive moment. Sahadeva frames present suffering as the fruit of earlier restraint or omission, implying that ethical discernment includes timely action to prevent greater adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sahadeva addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (called ‘Bhārata’) and recalls the dice match where Śakuni won through the dice-game. He laments that he did not kill Śakuni then, and interprets the Pandavas’ current predicament as the result of that missed opportunity.