Shloka 18
Adhyāya 59: Vidura’s Admonition to Duryodhana after the Summons of Draupadī (सभा पर्व)
इसी प्रकार आप यदि मेरे पास आकर यह मानते हैं कि आपके साथ शठता की जायगी एवं यदि आपको भय मालूम होता है तो इस जूएके खेलसे निवृत्त हो जाइये ।।
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: āhūto na nivarteyam iti me vratam āhitam | vidhis tu balavān rājan diṣṭasyāsmi vaśe sthitaḥ ||
尤提士提罗说道：“大王啊，我立下的誓愿已定：一旦受邀，便不退却。命运强大；我立于既定之数的支配之下。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal dharma expressed as a vow (not withdrawing once summoned) and the perceived force of destiny. Yudhiṣṭhira frames his continued participation as adherence to a self-binding ethical rule, while also acknowledging the overpowering pull of what is ‘ordained’ (vidhi/diṣṭa).
In the dice-hall episode, Yudhiṣṭhira is being pressed to continue the game. He responds that, having been invited, he will not retreat because it is his established vow; he further says that fate is strong and he stands under its control—foreshadowing the disastrous consequences of the match.