Note: This is a rough work that highlights a portion in the Sabha Parva of Vyasa's Mahabharata. This might get edited in the future on the availability of new resources.
Dhritarashtra reprimanded Duryodhana and Dushashana to stop the act. His daughter-in-law was delivered from the shameful cruelty. But, it was too late. Bhima took a vow of killing all the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. Gangaputra Bhisma, the pitamah of both Pandavas and Kauravas was seeing the evil that had become a part of his own family. A war was now inevitable.
How did gambling end up with such terrible transactions, acts and vows? I don’t know the history of gambling, why gambling was placed inside the epic and how popular gambling was when the epic was composed. But, I will still try a breakdown of what gambling meant in the context of (Maha)Bharata.
If one tries to see the placement of Gita in the epic, one may see how well it tries to connect the past events with the upcoming war for Dharma. Duryodhana out of his evil heart couldn’t keep his resentment aside. Shakuni refused to forget his humiliation as Gandhari married Dhritarashtra and worked crafty ways to destroy the very kingdom, Bhishma wanted to protect. Negative emotions were controlling both the characters.
As cruelty, dishonour and evil shows the weakness of a person, both Duryodhana and Shakuni may be considered as having weak minds. Duryodhana should have accepted that his younger brother, Bhima is stronger. Shakuni should have fought Bhishma in a direct manner rather than creating dishonourable plots and using dice as a weapon. There are other characters in the epic whose emotions went astray and eventually concluded their fate.
In sharp contrast, stand Pandavas and Gandhari. Pandavas, though they had the caliber, didn’t attack the Kauravas during humiliation of Draupadi because they were the losing parties. Gandhari accepted Pandavas as her caretaker after the war, without cursing or complaining about the death of her sons. They were virtuous because they accepted the justice of fate with heavy-handed control over their emotions.
Mysteriously though, Gandhari couldn’t teach her virtue to her sons. No one knows why some parents get evil children and some parents end up with virtuous ones.
Further Discussion
Interestingly, there is a trace of above questions in Adivansavatarana Parva. Vaisampayana finishes his brief summary of the events, after the snake-sacrifice ends midway. Janmajeya expresses his dissatisfaction at the length of the summary and asks Vaisampayana to further elaborate on each and every detail of the history.
Janmajeya elaborates on the reasons behind his dissatisfaction:-
Dhritarashtra reprimanded Duryodhana and Dushashana to stop the act. His daughter-in-law was delivered from the shameful cruelty. But, it was too late. Bhima took a vow of killing all the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. Gangaputra Bhisma, the pitamah of both Pandavas and Kauravas was seeing the evil that had become a part of his own family. A war was now inevitable.
How did gambling end up with such terrible transactions, acts and vows? I don’t know the history of gambling, why gambling was placed inside the epic and how popular gambling was when the epic was composed. But, I will still try a breakdown of what gambling meant in the context of (Maha)Bharata.
Context
Duryodhana harboured resentment against Pandavas(especially Bhima) from childhood. So prone was Duryodhana to evil that he poisoned Bhima even as a boy. He created many plots such as a lac house for burning Pandavas and Kunti alive. When Duryodhana came to Yudhithira’s Rajsuya Yajna, his head turned completely on witnessing Pandava’s wealth. His envy couldn’t accept this. This Pandavas created a city(Indraprastha) out of a forest(Khandavaprastha) and surpassed Hastinapur’s grandeur in so little time. As his uncle Shakuni knew how to control dices - Duryodhana hatched a plan to take away Pandava’s kingdom through gambling with dices.
Dice and a King
Vyasa writes that a Kshatriya’s dharma is to accept an invitation to gambling. (I don’t know the reason behind existence of such a rule.) Being a virtuous king, Yudhishtira agreed to play with Shakuni(on behalf of Duryodhana). Kaurava brothers made arrangements for the expected entertainment and the game began.
Loss of Kingdom, Brothers, Wife and Clothes
Yudhisthira couldn’t win even a single bet due to Shakuni’s treachery. As the losses mounted, Yudhisthira lost his reasoning and began to bet more aggressively. He slowly bet everything present in his kingdom, including the kingdom itself. He bet himself and lost. He bet his brothers and lost. He bet his wife, Draupadi and lost. He bet Pandava’s clothes and lost. Duryodhana was waiting for it. He ordered Dushashana to take Draupadi’s garment using force. Mysteriously, as if a divine power was overlooking the events - Draupadi’s garment turned out to be endless. Dushashana failed to achieve the entertainment, he hoped for. Dhritarashtra seeing that his sons have crossed the limit - hastened to put an end to the dice game.The Game of Dice
Some questions can be asked about the rules, contracts and players surrounding the dice game:-
- In a gambling match, how bound is a person to losses and gains?
In a way, gambling is about the loss of a player and direct gain of the opponent. As Yudhisthira was a king, the only authority that bound him was his word. Being virtuous, he agreed to give whatever he lost(including his kingdom). That was the main goal of Duryodhana - to get the kingdom through indirect means as he was not strong enough to fight Pandavas directly. - Was betting humans legal in a dice game?
I don’t know for sure. But, it seems to be allowed. Nonetheless, betting humans was disagreeable. Any respectable person(even if he gambles) won’t agree to the bet. But, Duryodhana and brothers were of different mould altogether and seemed jolly at Yudhisthira’s obsessive bets. - Was Yudhisthira legally allowed to bet his brothers and wife?
Technically, no. He has already lost himself in the dice game. Irrespective of his own loss, he doesn’t own his brothers and wife per se. The bet was disagreeable as it was mistaking relations as objects. But again, Duryodhana saw that Yudhisthira continues with the play. - Was the dice game, legal?
Regardless of technical details, the dice game was flawed because Shakuni could control the dices. That makes the game illegal. But only Shakuni and Kaurava brothers knew about the dices. Yudhisthira continued to think that he was losing a game based on chance. He couldn’t stop his obsessive betting. - Why was Yudhisthira so obsessed about betting?
I don’t know the psychological pressures and passions that a game of dice entails. Perhaps, as losses began to mount - Yudhisthira thought that the next throw of dice will reverse his fortune. He expected that the dices will take his side at least once.
Meta context
One of the treatises that comprise (Maha)Bharata is Gita, told by Krishna to Arjuna before the war. As Arjuna went through compunction, Krishna told him to control his emotions and fulfil his duty as a warrior. Control of emotions - both negative and positive - is a requisite to become a complete person. If he doesn’t, then the emotions become his master rather than the other way round.
If one tries to see the placement of Gita in the epic, one may see how well it tries to connect the past events with the upcoming war for Dharma. Duryodhana out of his evil heart couldn’t keep his resentment aside. Shakuni refused to forget his humiliation as Gandhari married Dhritarashtra and worked crafty ways to destroy the very kingdom, Bhishma wanted to protect. Negative emotions were controlling both the characters.
As cruelty, dishonour and evil shows the weakness of a person, both Duryodhana and Shakuni may be considered as having weak minds. Duryodhana should have accepted that his younger brother, Bhima is stronger. Shakuni should have fought Bhishma in a direct manner rather than creating dishonourable plots and using dice as a weapon. There are other characters in the epic whose emotions went astray and eventually concluded their fate.
In sharp contrast, stand Pandavas and Gandhari. Pandavas, though they had the caliber, didn’t attack the Kauravas during humiliation of Draupadi because they were the losing parties. Gandhari accepted Pandavas as her caretaker after the war, without cursing or complaining about the death of her sons. They were virtuous because they accepted the justice of fate with heavy-handed control over their emotions.
Mysteriously though, Gandhari couldn’t teach her virtue to her sons. No one knows why some parents get evil children and some parents end up with virtuous ones.
Further Discussion
Interestingly, there is a trace of above questions in Adivansavatarana Parva. Vaisampayana finishes his brief summary of the events, after the snake-sacrifice ends midway. Janmajeya expresses his dissatisfaction at the length of the summary and asks Vaisampayana to further elaborate on each and every detail of the history.
Janmajeya elaborates on the reasons behind his dissatisfaction:-
- That could never have been a trifling cause for which the virtuous ones could slay those whom they should not have slain, and for which they are yet applauded by men.
- Why also did those tigers among men, innocent and capable of avenging themselves upon their enemies, calmly suffer the persecution of the wicked Kurus?
- Why also, did Bhima of mighty arms and of the strength of ten thousand elephants, control his anger, though wronged?
- Why also did the chaste Krishna[Draupadi], the daughter of Drupada, wronged by those wretches and able to burn them, not burn the sons of Dhritarashtra with her wrathful eyes?
- Why also did the two other sons of Pritha (Bhima and Arjuna) and the two sons of Madri (Nakula and Sahadeva), themselves injured by the wretched Kurus, follow Yudhishthira who was greatly addicted to the evil habit of gambling?
- Why also did Yudhishthira, that foremost of all virtuous men, the son of Dharma himself, fully acquainted with all duties, suffer that excess of affliction?
- Why also did the Pandava Dhananjaya, having Krishna for his charioteer, who by his arrows sent to the other world that dauntless host of fighting men (suffer such persecution)?
