Shloka 2836
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
द्यूतत: कृच्छुमापन्नो लूनपक्ष इव द्विज: । संजय! मेरे मन्त्री और पुत्र मारे गये। मैं तो पंख कटे हुए पक्षीके समान जूएके कारण भारी संकटमें पड़ गया हूँ
dyūtataḥ kṛcchram āpanno lūnapakṣa iva dvijaḥ | sañjaya! me mantriṇaḥ putrāś ca mārītāḥ | ahaṃ tu paṅkha-kaṭita-pakṣī-sadṛśo dyūta-kāraṇād bhāri saṅkaṭe patito 'smi ||
持国说道：“因掷骰赌博，我陷入了极深的苦难——如同双翼被剪的鸟。三阇耶啊，我的谋臣与我的儿子们都已被杀。正是那骰子把我推入这沉重的灾厄，使我无力而破碎。”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames gambling (dyūta) as a moral and political failing whose consequences cascade into irreversible loss. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s simile of a wing-clipped bird highlights how indulgence and negligence can strip a ruler of agency, leading to ruin for family and state.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing the war’s devastation through Sañjaya, laments that his ministers and sons have been killed. He traces the catastrophe back to the dice-game, confessing his helplessness and despair as the Kuru house collapses.