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4.

Psychological, Philosophical and Legal Aspects of the Dice Game

“Please tell this in detail, Brāhmin, because this was the root of the destruction of the world, best of the twice-born.”51

The dice game takes us into one of the most dramatic scenes in the Mahābhārata. It raises a number of intricate questions which deserve an in-depth study and elaborate analysis. We come across here some noble aspects of Indian culture, but at the same time also its very contradiction. We meet individuals in extreme situations of the most acute inner trial, and find even the wisest of the wise perplexed by a set of circumstances which is bewildering by its complexity, frustrating by its entanglement and fatal by its sheer force.

In the event of the dice game we experience in a major scene a density of action and subtlety of perception which seem to reveal the master hand of Vyāsa himself at work. The crisis of the Pāṇḍavas and their wife, the immensity of inner torture that they undergo, are described in a terse, almost cool language which nevertheless makes us breathless participants of a tremendous drama. We may say that the inner torment of Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna and Draupadī in this scene is even greater and more severe and devastating than Arjuna’s famous despair at the beginning of the war.

Apart from analysing these situations where souls struggle for their survival, fight for their inmost Truth, we will also try to provide new answers to a number of questions:

1) Why did Yudhiṣṭhira accept the challenge for the dice game? Was he really moved by his passion for the game?

2) Why did he accept to play against Śakuni, a well-known master-wizard joining the game on Duryodhana’s behalf?

3) Why was Yudhiṣṭhira so much in a haste to lose everything once the game started and his losing streak became obvious?

4) Why did Yudhiṣṭhira go so far as to stake even Draupadī, although it was clear that he would lose her as he lost everything else?

5) What were the exact implications of Draupadī’s question to the assembly whether Yudhiṣṭhira had lost himself before he lost her?

6) Why did none of the elders present in the hall (Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa etc.) intervene on behalf of Draupadī when Duḥśāsana started molesting her?

These are some of the questions which we will deal with, closely following the text of the Critical Edition. All the while we will have the occasion to enter a real life scene enacted in ancient India – or at least realistically imagined by the poet – which provides us with a first-hand psychological experience of various interesting characters.

Preliminary Events

Once prince Duryodhana52 stepped in the middle of the hall on a crystal slap, and wrongly assuming it was water, the bewildered prince raised his robe. Upset and downcast, he then roamed about the hall. Thereafter, beholding a pond with crystalline water, beautiful with crystalline lotuses, he thought it was land and fell into the water, fully dressed. When they saw him fallen into the water, the servants laughed a lot and gave him fresh clothes at the king’s behest. After this had happened to him, the mighty Bhīmasena, Arjuna and the twins all of them burst into laughter. Being an irritable man, he could not bear their mockery and did not look at them to save his face.53

Duryodhana suffered three great disappointments in his life. The first was when the five Pāṇḍavas left the forest after their father’s death and moved into the palaces of the Kuru house with their mother Kuntī. Like an admired and undisputed champion athlete who is suddenly relegated to third or fourth rank by the unexpected arrival of new sportsmen, so Duryodhana was bereft at that time of his sure status of not only the successor of the Kuru dynasty but also the leader among the young princes at the Court. He was one of those persons whose character does not allow them to prosper and be happy except under conditions where they are the one and only leader. To be eclipsed by another ‘star’, to be driven by others rather than driving oneself, to have rivals who divert the attention and admiration away from oneself – all this does not suit a Duryodhana who would prefer to die rather than accepting such conditions. Thus we find him fighting from the beginning, trying to kill Bhīma at first for having humiliated the Kaurava princes with various feats of strength, and then later attempting to burn the five brothers in the lacquer palace at Vāraṇāvata.

The second disappointment was when Arjuna won Draupadī at her svayaṁvara by his superior skill in archery. Duryodhana failed to string the bow54 and saw his close friend Karṇa defeated in the short battle which ensued with the unknown Brāhmins, actually the Pāṇḍavas in disguise. His worst enemies, believed to be dead beyond doubt, had staged a powerful comeback, won a most beautiful bride for themselves and secured a strong new ally, king Drupada.

The third great disappointment was Yudhiṣṭhira’s coronation as saṁrāṭ. For sure, this was a great event for the Kuru family whose members were given various functions at this occasion. “Duryodhana received all the presents of honour,” says the text.55 Even though Yudhiṣṭhira had generously assured the Kauravas, “all this wealth here is yours and so am I,” it can hardly have been a pleasing experience for Duryodhana to collect treasures on Yudhiṣṭhira’s behalf.56

And then came, on top of that, his embarrassing experience (recorded in the quotation above) while inspecting the palace built by Maya with many contraptions. Like a fool he stumbles into all the traps carefully laid out by the master architect, and everywhere sees laughing grimaces enjoying his ill luck. Duryodhana does not react with resignation, but he thinks of revenge. At this moment a seed was sown for a terrible and merciless battle where the end would justify the means whatever their nature. Henceforth, there could only be the defeat (and preferably death) of the Pāṇḍavas or his own, no compromise was conceivable.

While Duryodhana is returning home in the company of Śakuni, he is invaded by thoughts of burning hatred. He conveys his inner convulsions to his uncle at his enquiry:

I am outraged, burning day and night… When I saw all that blazing wealth at the Pāṇḍava’s, I was seized by anger and I am burning, although usually that’s not my state of mind. I will enter the fire or take poison or drown myself, because I won’t be able to live on.57

We need not assume that Duryodhana was really playing with the thought of ending his life. This is just cunning talk meant to impress Śakuni with the need of doing something to support him. In fact, he expects Śakuni to approach Dhṛtarāṣṭra, informing him about his son’s agony.

Śakuni’s Role

Śakuni, brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s wife Gāndhārī, has generally a rather negative image, but here, in the established text of the Critical Edition, we get a slightly different picture and find him to be a rather cool-headed advisor trying to calm down the inflamed Duryodhana. He begins his answer to Duryodhana with the following counsel:

Duryodhana, you must not harbour any anger against Yudhiṣṭhira, for the Pāṇḍavas have always enjoyed good luck.58

In this whole passage Śakuni does not say anything which could further fan the fire of Duryodhana’s hatred. He is rather trying to bring him to a rational level, giving him a realistic evaluation of the situation. Śakuni points out that Duryodhana is not all alone, as he believes in this moment of depression, but he has powerful allies such as Droṇa, Kṛpa and Karṇa. But quite apart from that, Śakuni does not encourage him at all to think of war, because the five Pāṇḍavas and Kṛṣṇa “cannot be defeated in battle by force, not even by the hosts of the gods”.59

Here again Śakuni’s way of talking to Duryodhana is quite surprising. To hear in such frank speech from his close relative that his enemies are invincible must have been another severe shock for the Kaurava prince. We know from previous incidences that he would get furious with those who doubted his own fighting capacities. But Śakuni had a trump card up his sleeve which he quickly brought out to console his downcast protégé: the idea of staging a dice game with Yudhiṣṭhira and robbing him of all his wealth by shrewd, though non-violent means.

The Kaunteya60 loves gambling, but has no skill in it. If the rājendra is challenged, he will not be able to desist from it.61

We seem to have some evidence here that Yudhiṣṭhira in spite of all his virtue was attached to dice playing. On the other hand, when Vidura came to invite him on behalf of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Pāṇḍava was not enthusiastic about the proposal:

At a game, Vidura, there will be quarrel. Knowing this, who would like to play?62

Yudhiṣṭhira is shocked to learn that Śakuni and other cunning players will be present. However, he agrees to accept the challenge in accordance with dharma: the invitation was sent by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, so Yudhiṣṭhira is obliged to accept it under the rules of the family law. Moreover, he seems to be under an oath to take up any challenge made to him; and thirdly, a sense of Fate, a sense of the inevitable overcomes him:

Through the Creator’s will everything is in his sway. I don’t refuse now to play with those gamblers. O sage, at the behest of king Dhṛtarāṣṭra I will go to the dice game. A son always respects his father. Therefore, I will do as you tell me, Vidura. It is not that I am unwilling to play with Śakuni. Otherwise he would aggressively challenge me in that hall. Once challenged, I never refuse, I have sworn this for eternity.63

According to this statement – and he has a great reputation for truth-speaking – Yudhiṣṭhira was not moved by his passion for the game in following the invitation, but he rather saw with his calm rational mind that anyhow he had to enter the arena. It is a real dilemma: he knows with his reasoning mind that he is acting against reason. A higher factor has superseded the mental conclusion: Fate.

daivaṁ prajñāṁ tu muṣṇāti tejaścakṣurivāpatat /

dhātuśca vaśamanveti pāśairiva naraḥ sitaḥ //

Fate carries away our reason as glare blinding the eye. Bound as with nooses, man follows the creator’s will.64

These words spoken by Yudhiṣṭhira are probably the final answer to the question as to why he chose to accept Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s invitation. As the analysis of some later situations will show, Yudhiṣṭhira is actually trapped by his own strict interpretation of dharma. The King is to be obeyed under all circumstances – because this is the family dharma. Yudhiṣṭhira cannot escape the situation and therefore calls it daivam.

In this context we may enquire whether the dharma as such, in a higher sense, as the total balance of justice, is really protected by such an adherence to a specific dharma, the rule of obedience to the elder in this case. In other words, if an elder member of the family asks a junior member to do something wrong, should the junior obey? This is a question of legal philosophy with many implications. But at first we will investigate in detail where this specific law takes a man who follows it consistently up to the end.

Before Duryodhana got his father to arrange for the dice game, he had to struggle a good deal to overcome the resistance of the blind ruler who preferred to ask Vidura first. Duryodhana then decided to use the ultimate means for winning over his father: he threatened with suicide:

The kṣattā65 will turn you down, when consulted. And when you are turned down, rājendra, I will certainly kill myself. If I am dead, king, be happy with Vidura. The whole earth will be there for you to enjoy – why should you think of me!66

These two verses give us the essence of the relationship between Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his eldest son. And the king yields, as always. The subsequent consultation with Vidura is only a formality. Dhṛtarāṣṭra appears to be quite sure of himself, he also speaks of destiny:

Surely, the Gods in heaven will bestow their Grace on us. Whether good or bad, beneficent or maleficent, the family game at dice shall proceed, for it is certainly so destined by fate.67

However, the king in his typical way subsequently changed his mind, after having given the orders for the construction of the gambling hall, and tried to convince his son to follow Vidura’s advice by abstaining from his plans. This makes Duryodhana come forward with a long monologue on the unbearable envy he was suffering when seeing the grandeur of the Pāṇḍavas. In the end he states in unambiguous terms his own philosophy of Machiavellian Machtpolitik:

The kṣatriya’s life is focused on victory, mahārāja. Let it be dharma or adharma, as long as it is his own way of being. Discontent is the root of wealth, therefore I desire discontent. He who strives after the summit, is, oh king, the greatest leader. Should we not act selfishly in matters of power or wealth? Others rob what someone had acquired before, for this is known to be the dharma of kings.68

Dhṛtarāṣtra’s mind is helplessly swayed under the combined impact of Śakuni’s and Duryodhana’s arguments. So he gives his final consent to the game, unwilling though, and predicting trouble to his son in the future. This following verse too gives deep insight into the king’s character. He is knowingly permitting his son to tread the path of adharma, but too weak to resist him:

I do not like what you say. But do as you please, king of men. Thereafter you will suffer, remembering these words, because what you say is not in line with the dharma.69

The Game Starts

The game itself and subsequent developments are the most humiliating and embarrassing experience in the life of Yudhiṣṭhira. The very embodiment of virtue, of high sattvic qualities is seen here as if sucked into a whirlpool which rapidly and irresistibly pulls him down into the deepest abyss. We observe in him a weakness common in such natures, namely that they refuse to resist evil and thus play into the hands of the devil. And yet Yudhiṣṭhira is following some principles as we have pointed out above. What happens now is a tragedy unfolding itself for the very reason that he is stubbornly sticking to his principles, which become his cross.

Before the beginning of the dice game, Yudhiṣṭhira has a talk with Śakuni which displays his meek nature; it has no great force in it. Yudhiṣṭhira said:

Gaming is fraud and is evil; there is no kṣatriya prowess in it, or steady conduct, prince. Why do you praise dicing? For no one praises the gambler’s pride in his fraud: Śakuni, don’t defeat us by wrong and crooked means!70

No need to say that this naïve appeal fails to evoke any adequate response from the cunning Śakuni who takes Yudhiṣṭhira back to the reality of the game, pointing out that the true gambler is the one who detects the deceptions of other players and moves the dice cleverly with great skill and cunning. In his response, Yudhiṣṭhira continues with his appeal to Śakuni to play a fair game. He argues that the Pāṇḍavas use their wealth to help the Brāhmins and therefore he should not win too much. Śakuni answers that Yudhiṣṭhira need not play if he is afraid of the game, but the dharmarāja mentions his vow to accept any challenge, and so the game starts.

After Śakuni has won the first game, we see Yudhiṣṭhira voicing his helpless protest for a last time – he then kept silent up to the end of this episode, defeated by Fate and his own sense of dharma.

Through a trick you have won this game. All right, let us play now, Śakuni, throwing the dice a thousand times.71

Yudhiṣṭhira is seized by a negative force now which makes him stake and lose rapidly all his wealth. His rational mind is no more active from this moment onwards; he seems only to be in a haste to be devoured by the spider in whose net he has been caught. Even while he is thus gambling away all his possessions, the embarrassed Kuru elders look on impassively and nobody tries to come to his rescue - except Vidura.

Iravati Karve has pointed out in Yugānta72 that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s half-brother may actually have been Yudhiṣṭhira’s real physical father – a thesis which is well supported by several passages in the text.73 Thus it was Vidura who warned Yudhiṣṭhira about the plot of burning the lacquer palace at Vāraṇāvata and sent an expert miner to dig a tunnel. He always argued on behalf of the Pāṇḍavas and openly took their part. Furthermore, he gave shelter to Kuntī during the thirteen years’ exile of the Pāṇḍavas. Indeed, a close reading of various passages describing meetings between Vidura and Yudhiṣṭhira reveals their intimate relationship.

In the same way, during the dice game Vidura alone tries now to intervene on Yudhiṣṭhira’s behalf.74 But his efforts to influence Dhṛtarāṣṭra against Duryodhana are – as always – fruitless. He reminds the assembly of the evil omens which manifested at Duryodhana’s birth and quotes that well-known guide-line for safeguarding the harmony and survival of a small or big unit:

For the sake of the family, one should abandon a man; for the sake of the village, one should abandon a family; for the sake of the country, one should abandon a village; for the sake of the soul, one should abandon the earth.75

However, Duryodhana is quick to reject Vidura’s suggestions and secures his hold over his father’s mind with a counter-attack on Vidura:

You always praise, kṣattā, the fame of our opponents, while secretly abusing the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. We know, Vidura, on whose side you are, you despise us as if we were stupid children.76

So Dhṛtarāṣṭra does not heed Vidura’s warning and the game goes on. Yudhiṣṭhira stakes and loses all his brothers. Then nothing is left and he stakes himself. His words, addressed to Śakuni, reveal that he has entirely stopped being his real self now:

I am left now, cherished by all my brothers. Defeated, we will labour for you until we perish.77

Nala’s Dice Game