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24.THE WAGER
After that Sakuni stood
up in the assembly and shouted the names
of each of the five Pandavas and loudly
proclaimed that they had all become his
lawful slaves.
The assembly looked on in stunned
silence. Sakuni alone turned
toYudhishthira and said: "There is one
jewel still in your possession by staking
which you can yet free yourself. Can you
not continue the game cffering your wife
Draupadi as wager?"
Yudhishthira despairingly said: "I pledge
her," and he trembled unwittingly.
There was audible distress and agitation in
that part of the assembly where the elders
sat. Soon great shouts of 'Fie! Fie!' arose
from all sides. The more emotional wept.
Others perspired, and felt the end of the
world was come.
Duryodhana, his brothers and Karna
shouted with exultation. In that group
Yuyutsu alone bent his head in shame and
sorrow and heaved a deep sigh. Sakuni
cast the dice and shouted again: "I have
won."
At once Duryodhana turned to Vidura and
said: "Go and fetch Draupadi, the beloved
wife of the Pandavas. She must hence
forward sweep and clean our house. Let
her come without delay."
Vidura exclaimed: "Are you mad that you
rush to certain destruction? You are
hanging by a slender thread over a
bottomless abyss! Drunk with success,
you do not see it, but it will engulf you!"
Having thus reprimanded Duryodhana,
Vidura turned to the assembly and said:
"Yudhishthira had no right to stake
Panchali as by then he had himself already
lost his freedom and lost all rights. I see
that the ruin of the Kauravas is imminent,
and that, regardless of the advice of their
friends and well-wishers, the sons of
Dhritarashtra are on the path to hell."
Duryodhana was angry at these words of
Vidura and told Prathikami, his
charioteer: "Vidura is jealous of us and he
is afraid of the Pandavas. But you are
different. Go forth and bring Draupadi
immediately."
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