Shloka 3
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
नैव धर्मेण तद् राज्यं नार्जवेन न चौजसा | अक्षकूटमधिष्ठाय हतं दुर्योधनेन वै,“दुर्योधनने धर्मसे, सरलतासे और बलसे भी हमारे राज्यको नहीं लिया है; उसने तो कपटपूर्ण जूएका आश्रय लेकर उसका हरण कर लिया है
naiva dharmeṇa tad rājyaṃ nārjavena na caujasā | akṣakūṭam adhiṣṭhāya hataṃ duryodhanena vai ||
“Vương quốc ấy không bị cướp khỏi chúng ta bằng dharma, cũng chẳng bằng sự ngay thẳng, càng không bằng sức mạnh. Duryodhana chỉ dựa vào trò xúc xắc gian trá mà đoạt lấy—bằng mưu kế quanh co ấy, hắn đã cướp mất của ta.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts legitimate acquisition of power—through dharma, honesty, or strength—with illegitimate gain through fraud. It frames the loss of the kingdom as an ethical violation: sovereignty obtained by deceit (especially gambling trickery) lacks moral legitimacy and becomes a seed of later conflict.
The speaker recalls how the kingdom was taken: not by open contest or righteous claim, but through a rigged dice game. Duryodhana is identified as the agent who, relying on a deceptive dice-plot, deprived the rightful holders of their rule.