Shloka 44
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
तावकानां जये भीष्मो ग्लह आसीद् विशाम्पते । तत्र हि द्यूतमासक्तं विजयायेतराय वा
tāvakānāṁ jaye bhīṣmo glaha āsīd viśāmpate | tatra hi dyūtam āsaktaṁ vijayāyetarāya vā, prajānātha |
三阇耶说道：“噢，万民之主，为了你诸子的胜利，毗湿摩被当作那场赌局中的赌注。因为在那里，战事如同掷骰之戏，胜与败被系于一线；战争本身化作赌博，为求一胜，竟将生命与职责一并押上。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a form of gambling: leaders may treat human lives and moral duty as stakes for victory. It implicitly critiques the ethical blindness of pursuing triumph through reckless wagering—especially when the ‘stake’ is a venerable protector like Bhishma and, by extension, the lives of many.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that, on the Kaurava side, Bhishma was effectively ‘put up as the wager’ for winning the war. The battlefield is portrayed as a dice-game where the outcome is either victory or defeat, highlighting the perilous, gamble-like nature of the conflict.