Shloka 10
अध्याय ६६: पुनर्द्यूत-प्रस्तावः
Proposal for a Renewed Dice Game
द्वारं सुघोरं नरकस्य जिह्ां न बुध्यते धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्र: । तमन्वेतारो बहव: कुरूणां द्यूतोदये सह दुःशासनेन
dvāraṃ sughoraṃ narakasya jihvāṃ na budhyate dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putraḥ | tam anvetāro bahavaḥ kurūṇāṃ dyūtodaye saha duḥśāsanena ||
毗度罗警告说：持国之子竟不识那通往地狱最可怖的门槛——仿佛正是地狱自身的舌头。待掷骰之局一开，俱卢族中许多人便随他同赴毁灭，并与杜沙萨那一道，被同样鲁莽的冲动牵引而去。
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vidura frames the dice-game as a moral precipice: indulgence in adharma appears attractive but functions like the ‘tongue of hell’ that devours one’s discernment, reputation, and future. The warning is against blindness to consequences and against leading others into collective wrongdoing.
In the Sabha Parva context of the dyūta (gambling) episode, Vidura admonishes the Kuru court: Duryodhana fails to see that initiating the dice-game is a dreadful path to ruin, and many Kurus, along with Duḥśāsana, align themselves with him as the match begins.