In the previous episode, we have witnessed Yudishtra making a last-ditch attempt with Sahuni uncle to try and somehow stop the Dyutam game from going forward. He explains how Dyutam is something that is completely illegal and it brings about detrimental effects to the king as well as to the kingdom as a whole. Moreover, Dyutam brings about enmity between great friends and brothers too, which would spoil the relationships completely. Hence, given these dangerous aftermath effects, why at all should we proceed with this? Instead, Yudishtra explains that since all of them are great Kshatrya princes trained under a great Guru, they should express their talent and have friendly fights in the right way. As Yudishtra expresses his stance in a polite and a calm manner, Sahuni immeditely rejects Yudishtra’s points of view. Sahuni says that the Dyutam is nothing wrong in today’s world and asks Yudishtra to stop his “Vedanta” then and there! Sahuni reminds Yudishtra that he has accepted the offer to play the game and after accepting, there’s no point in going back without playing it. With this, Yudishtra’s last-ditch attempt also ended in a failure, as he did not have any other option but to go ahead. All of them have taken their seats and the game is ready to begin anytime from now!
Thus, the time comes for the betting to start. Both the sides – Duryodhana, Karna, etc. along with Yudishtra, Bheemasena, Arjuna, etc. are getting prepared to go for the first round of betting. At this crucial juncture, Duryodhana declares to the entire audience as King Dhridiraashtra, Bhishmachaarya, etc. look on. Duryodhana says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I shall hereby do the betting, whereas my uncle Sahuni would roll the dice! I wouldn’t touch the dice at all and it is the responsibility of Sahuni uncle to make sure that I win all the bets that I keep!” As Duryodhana declares thus, Yudishtra raises an objection immediately: “Oh Duryodhana! How fair is this? How can you do the betting and someone else rolls the dice? You should be doing both. On our side, I’m the one who is doing both the betting and rolling the dice isn’t it? Aren’t you going against the rules of the game?” As Yudishtra asks thus, Duryodhana immediately answers back thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Why can’t this happen? For instance, if a person has to perform a Yagnya, he might not be competent enough to perform it all by himself. Hence, it is quite normal for him to have a Pandit who is an expert in offering the Yagnya as per the rules, isn’t it? Here also it is the same – Since I’m not that competent in rolling the dice, I’m using the expertise of my uncle here! So what’s wrong with this? Hence, I shall stick to my stance that I’m taking here!”
Duryodhana’s logic was right, for which Yudishtra did not have a concrete counter argument. Hence, he had no option but to accept Duryodhana’s point of view and with this, the game was about to begin. It was Yudishtra’s turn to place the first bet! He takes out his garland which is full of high-priced “Ratna” stones and places it as a bet. It all starts with some small things like this, and only as the game goes forward, bigger things would come! Thus, Yudishtra places a garland as a bet and Duryodhana also places an equivalent of it as his bet. As the bets were placed on both sides, Duryodhana proposes one number to be shown on the dice after it is rolled. Sahuni prays with his hands folded and rolls the dice! To Yudishtra’s dismay and to Duryodhana’s joy, the number that Duryodhana wanted to appear, exactly appears on the dice! Thus, the first round of betting is now won by Duryodhana and Co.! Sahuni declares the victory of Duryodhana and all the items that were on the bet now belong to Duryodhana! Yudishtra’s “Ratna” garland was taken away by Duryodhana promptly!
Unfazed by this, Yudishtra said thus, “Oh Duryodhana! Fine! This was just a small bet from my side. Now I’ll go for the bigger one – A bag full of a thousand gold coins! I’m keeping this as my second bet! Duryodhana too placed an equivalent set of gold coins as his bet. Sahuni rolls the dice once more and Duryodhana’s favourite number appears on the dice once again! Duryodhana wins the second round as well! All the thousand gold coins of Yudishtra became Duryodhana’s! As the game progressed thus, Yudishtra became more and more involved in it. He was steadfast in winning whatever he lost. Now the third round of gamble is going to start – Yudishtra’s bet was a thousand elephants! Once again the dice was rolled and once again it came in favour of Duryodhana! Sahuni was a real expert in this and Duryodhana reaped the benefit! All the thousand elephants that Yudishtra had placed, became his!
Now for the fourth round – Duryodhana was flying high with confidence! His plan was slowly working to perfection! Step after step, Yudishtra is losing and Duryodhana is using Yudishtra’s “innocence” and is slowly gaining ground! The fourth round witnesses Yudishtra placing a thousand servants as a bet. Duryodhana does the same and the dice are rolled! To Yudishtra’s shocking dismay, the dice shows up the number that Duryodhana wanted! With this, Duryodhana wins the fourth round as well! The thousand servants of Yudishtra become Duryodhana’s! This continues round after round! Yudishtra is constantly on the losing side and at one stage, he doesn’t know how to proceed further!
So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode we shall witness how the game proceeded further! A devastating accord on the Paandavas’ side awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 