Mahabharata -Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
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24.THE WAGER
At first they wagered jewels and later gold, silver and then chariots and horses. Yudhishthira lost continually. When he lost all these, Yudhishthira staked his servants and lost them also. He pledged his elephants and armies and lost them too. The dice thrown by Sakuni seemed at every time to obey his will. Cows, sheep, cities, villages and citizens and all other possessions were lost by Yudhishthira. Still, drugged with misfortune, he would not stop. He lost the ornaments of his brothers and himself as well as the very clothes they wore. Still bad luck dogged him, or rather the trickery of Sakuni was too much for him. Sakuni asked: "Is there anything else that you can offer as wager?" Yudhishthira said: "Here is the beautiful sky-complexioned Nakula. He is one of my riches. I place him as a wager." Sakuni replied: "Is it so? We shall be glad to win your beloved prince." With these words Sakuni cast the dice and the result was what he had foretold. The assembly trembled. Yudhishthira said: "Here is my brother Sahadeva. He is famous for his infinite knowledge in all the arts. It is wrong to bet him, still I do so. Let us play." Sakuni cast the dice with the words: "Here, I have played and I have won."Yudhishthira lost Sahadeva too. The wicked Sakuni was afraid that Yudhishthira might stop there. So be lashed Yudhishthira with these words: "To you, Bhima and Arjuna, being your full brothers, are no doubt dearer than the sons of Madri. You will not offer them, I know." Yudhishthira, now thoroughly reckless and stung to the quick by the sneering imputation that he held his step-brothers cheap, replied: "Fool, do you seek to divide us? How can you, living an evil life, understand the righteous life we lead?" He continued: "I offer as wager the ever- victorious Arjuna who successfully voyages across oceans of battle. Let us play." Sakuni answered: "I cast the dice" and he played. Yudhishthira lost Arjuna also. The stubborn madness of unbroken misfortune carried Yudhishthira further and deeper. With tears in his eyes, he said: "O king, Bhima, my brother, is our leader in battle. He strikes terror into the heart of demons and is equal to Indra; he can never suffer the least dishonor and he is peerless throughout the world in physical strength. I offer him as a bet" and he played again and lost Bhima too. The wicked Sakuni asked: "Is there any thing else you can offer?" Dharmaputra replied: "Yes. Here is myself. If you win, I shall be your slave." "Look. I win." Thus saying, Sakuni cast the dice and won. |
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