SB 3.1.8 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

द्यूते त्वधर्मेण जितस्य साधो: सत्यावलम्बस्य वनं गतस्य । न याचतोऽदात्समयेन दायं तमोजुषाणो यदजातशत्रो: ॥ ८ ॥

Verse text

dyūte tv adharmeṇa jitasya sādhoḥ satyāvalambasya vanaṁ gatasya na yācato ’dāt samayena dāyaṁ tamo-juṣāṇo yad ajāta-śatroḥ

Synonyms

dyūte — by means of gambling ; tu — but ; adharmeṇa — by unfair tricks ; jitasya — of the vanquished ; sādhoḥ — a saintly person ; satya — avalambasya — one who embraced truth as shelter ; vanam — forest ; gatasya — of the goer ; na — never ; yācataḥ — when asked for ; adāt — delivered ; samayena — in due course ; dāyam — right share ; tamaḥ — juṣāṇaḥ — overwhelmed by illusion ; yat — as much as ; ajāta — śatroḥ — of one who had no enemy .

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira, who was born without any enemy, was unfairly defeated in gambling. But because he had taken the vow of truthfulness, he went off to the forest. When he came back in due course and begged the return of his rightful share of the kingdom, he was refused by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who was overwhelmed by illusion.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Righteous Yudhiṣṭhira, defeated by unfair means in the gambling match, went to the forest according to his promise, and then returned to claim his rightful claim to the kingdom. But, overcome with illusion, Dhṛtarāṣṭra did not give it back. When (yat) Yudhiṣṭhira returning from the forest, according to the promised time (samayena), asked for his share (dāyam), Dhṛtarāṣṭra refused.

Purport

Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the rightful heir to his father’s kingdom. But just to favor his own sons, headed by Duryodhana, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira’s uncle, adopted various unfair means to cheat his nephews of their rightful share of the kingdom. At last the Pāṇḍavas demanded only five villages, one for each of the five brothers, but that was also refused by the usurpers. This incident led to the War of Kurukṣetra. The Battle of Kurukṣetra, therefore, was induced by the Kurus, and not the Pāṇḍavas. As kṣatriyas, the proper livelihood of the Pāṇḍavas was only to rule, and not to accept any other occupation. A brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya will not accept employment for his livelihood under any circumstances.