Shloka 57
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 50 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Bhīmasena (भीमसेनभयवर्णनम्)
द्यूतप्रमुखमा भाति कुरूणां व्यसनं महत् । मन्देनैश्वर्यकामेन लोभात् पापमिदं कृतम्
dyūtapramukham ābhāti kurūṇāṁ vyasanaṁ mahat | mandena aiśvaryakāmena lobhāt pāpam idaṁ kṛtam ||
持国王说道：“俱卢族的大祸，似乎起于掷骰赌博。愚昧的难敌，被对王权与势力的渴求驱使，因贪欲而犯下此罪。”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed and the craving for power lead to adharma: a single unethical choice (here, the dice-gambling episode) can become the seed of vast collective ruin, so responsibility for consequences lies with the agent who chooses wrongly.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the origins of the Kuru catastrophe, identifying the dice-game as the pivotal starting point and attributing the wrongdoing to Duryodhana’s greed and ambition for sovereignty.