Shloka 22

शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni

with Ulūka’s fall

Devanagari script

निकृत्या वै दुराचारो यानि रत्नानि सौबल:

Transliteration

nikṛtyā vai durācāro yāni ratnāni saubalaḥ

Translation

三阇耶说：“确是以欺诈之术，品性邪恶的娑婆罗子（沙昆尼）得了那些宝物——此举显出其行径败坏，也显出以诈取胜而非以正道得胜的道德污点。”

Word by Word

• निकृत्या: by deceit/treachery
• निकृत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: निकृति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• दुराचारः: the evil-doer / one of bad conduct
• दुराचारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुराचार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यानि: which (things)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• रत्नानि: gems, jewels
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• सौबलः: Saubala (Shakuni)
• सौबलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Saubala (Śakuni)
• ratnāni (jewels)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns acquisition through deceit: even if the object is valuable (jewels), the method—fraud—marks the agent as durācāra (of corrupt conduct) and frames the act as adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya characterizes Saubala (Śakuni) as one who secures valuables through trickery, reinforcing Śakuni’s established role in the epic as a strategist of deception whose actions contribute to the moral collapse leading to war.