Vedic Wisdom Talks

  Wisdom! The gambling match continued to take its toll. Finally having won time & again, Sakuni asked Yudhisthira: My dear king, is there anything else remaining in your possession that you’d like to bet?   Yudhisthira said-My remaining wealth is almost unlimited! Now I shall stake my cows, other domestic animals & numerous other articles of immense value. Once again Sakuni rolled the dice & won all   One after other Yudhisthira wagered his capital city Indraprastha, his kingdom with all villages & agricultural lands, the possession of citizens except the Brahmanas & finally the subjects themselves. Each time Sakuni won Yudhisthira continued losing more & more and became more obsessed with increasing the stakes until they reached insane proportions. Indeed, Yudhisthira appeared to be practically delirious   Finally, since all his other possessions had been lost, he bet the 5 sons of Draupadi and lost them all. At last having nothing else, Yud...

Advise!   Vidura continued his advise to Dhritrāshtra saying-Foolish Duryodhana does not realize the dire consequences of his sinful attempt to usurp the Pāndavās wealth. You shouldn’t be uselessly attached to such a wicked son! Kamsa was rejected by the other members of the Bhoja dynasty & when Sri Krsna killed him, everyone was overjoyed   Duryodhana overheard all this & so he responded very angrily by criticizing Vidura with harsh words saying-You’ve always favored the sons of Pāndu & slighted us. We’ve kept a poisonous snake on our laps all these years! Vidura, even though we have always pampered you, you still desire to harm us. You’re a parasite that lives off your elder brother. There is no need for you to give such unwanted advice!   Why should you always criticize me? There is only one Supreme controller, who guides even the baby within the mother’s womb. He is the supplier of intelligence & since everyone must follow his will, I’m also acting und...

  Free fall to destruction! Considering himself already in the grips of Fate, Yudhisthira put forth another bet consisting of heaps of gold & silver. Duryodhana matched this & once again Sakuni rolled dice & declared that he won   Yudhisthira knew that Sakuni was employing unfair means & yet without even pausing he next staked his royal chariot which was equal to 1000 ordinary chariots. Again, Sakuni rolled dice & gleefully proclaimed victory. Yudhisthira then wagered 100 000 beautiful young maidservants who were fully decorated with valuable ornaments & adept in 64 arts including dancing & singing. Sakuni eagerly picked up the dice & while hardly trying to conceal his cheating tactics, rolled them to declare his win   Next Yudhisthira wagered 1000’s of male servants that were expert in ministering to the needs of guests. Sakuni rolled dice & joyfully declared victory. Then Yudhisthira bet 1000 gigantic elephants each having mark of a l...

  Fate! Next morning, after performing customary religious duties, Pāndavās entered the assembly hall & paid respects to all. When they were seated, Sakuni said to Yudhisthira-Dear king, please fix rules for the friendly game of dice that we are about to play Yudhisthira said-Gambling is a very low & evil pursuit and is meant for baser class of men. Therefore, I request you not to try & defeat me by deceitful means. Ignoring this, Sakuni simply said-Gambling is a great art like anything else. Let us begin play without further delay. However, Yudhisthira continued to decry gambling as a means for one Kshatriya to conquer another, especially when cheating was employed Sakuni cleverly argued-O King! You must admit that base motive of gaining victory over another is present in all challenges not just gambling. Even when great scholars challenge one another to debate, the same selfish motive is seen. There is really no difference between gambling & fighting on battlefiel...