Shloka 18
अक्षविजय-प्रसङ्गः
Escalation of Wagers and Shakuni’s Repeated Declarations of Victory
दैवं हि प्रज्ञां मुष्णाति चक्षुस्तेज इवापतत् । धातुश्च वशमन्वेति पाशैरिव नर: सितः
daivaṃ hi prajñāṃ muṣṇāti cakṣus-teja ivāpatat | dhātuś ca vaśam anveti pāśair iva naraḥ sitaḥ ||
命运确会夺去人的明辨之智，正如骤然迸发的炽光夺走双眼的视力。为同一命运所驱使，人便在造化主宰者的掌控下转动，如同被绳索紧缚之人——判断与行动的自由受限，行程亦被迫随之而定。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When overpowering destiny (daiva) takes hold, it can eclipse a person’s discernment (prajñā), making them act as though bound—drawn into the control of the cosmic Ordainer (dhātṛ). The verse highlights ethical caution: loss of clarity leads to compelled, harmful choices, so one should guard judgment and seek right counsel.
In the Sabha Parva’s court-setting tensions, the narrator Vaiśampāyana reflects on how people, under the pressure of fate, lose sound judgment and proceed as if constrained by unseen bonds—an interpretive frame for the unfolding decisions and missteps in the royal assembly.