Shakuni and Duryodhana Incite Dhritarashtra to Gamble
Duryodhana, sick with envy after witnessing Yudhishthira's limitless wealth at the Rajasuya, is pale and wasting away. His uncle Shakuni brings him before the blind king Dhritarashtra and prompts the king to ask the cause of his son's misery. Duryodhana describes the unbearable spectacle of the Pandava's prosperity, and Shakuni proposes a solution: a dice game.
Shakuni, having heard Duryodhana’s bitter words after the Rajasuya sacrifice, took Gandhari’s son to see the king. He approached the wise but sightless Dhritarashtra and pointed out Duryodhana’s condition. “O great king, your eldest son is pale, yellow, and thin. He is miserable and always worrying. Why do you not find out the exact reason for this grief?”
Dhritarashtra turned to his son. “What is the reason for your great grief? Shakuni tells me you are wasting away. I see no cause. All my riches are yours. Your brothers and well-wishers never displease you. You wear the best garments, eat food laced with meat, ride thoroughbred horses. Expensive beds, beautiful women, fine houses and pleasure grounds await your command like a god’s. Why then do you grieve like a miserable man?”
Duryodhana replied, “I eat and dress, but I only tolerate the passing of time because I bear a terrible envy. A true man vanquishes his enemies. But satisfaction, pride, compassion, and fear destroy prosperity. Having witnessed Kunti’s son Yudhishthira’s blazing prosperity, I find no pleasure. It is that which turns me pale.”
He began to list what he had seen. Yudhishthira supported eighty-eight thousand snataka (graduated) householders, each with thirty servant maidens. Another ten thousand ate the best food from golden plates. The king of Kamboja sent skins, blankets, chariots, women, and herds of horses. A hundred she-camels roamed three hundred times. Kings brought diverse riches in great numbers to the sacrifice.
“I have never seen nor heard of such an inflow of wealth,” Duryodhana said. “Vatadhana brahmanas, rich in cattle, stood at the gate in groups of one hundred. They brought three kharvas of riches as tribute but were turned back. Only when they brought beautiful golden kamandalus (water pots) and filled *those* with tribute were they allowed entry. The ocean brought Varuna’s brass pots filled with ambrosia better than what the gods bring Shakra — one thousand of them, adorned with jewels and gold. On seeing all this, I felt afflicted with fever.”
He described the conch shells that blew each time one hundred thousand brahmanas were fed. “I continuously heard those great sounds. My hair stood on end. Many kings crowded as spectators, and like vaishyas (merchants), those lords of the earth served the brahmanas. The king of the gods, Yama, Varuna, or the lord of the guhyakas (Yakshas) does not possess riches equal to Yudhishthira’s. Ever since I witnessed this, my heart has been burning. I can find no peace.”
Shakuni saw his opening. “O you whose valour is truth! Listen to the means whereby you can obtain the unmatched prosperity you have seen with the Pandava. I am skilled in playing with dice, supreme on earth. I know their heart. I know how to stake. I know the special art. Though Kounteya loves dice, he has no knowledge. If challenged, he will certainly come. I will challenge him.”
Duryodhana instantly turned to his father. “O king! This one is skilled in dice. Through dice, he will win the wealth of Pandu’s son. Please grant him permission.”
Dhritarashtra hesitated. “I always follow the counsel of my immensely wise adviser, Kshatta. I will consult with him and then decide.”
Duryodhana’s response was swift and desperate. “If you ask Kshatta, he will restrain you. O Indra among kings! And if you are restrained, I will certainly kill myself. When I am dead, may you find happiness with Vidura. Enjoy the whole earth. What do you have to do with me?”
Dhritarashtra heard those painful, affectionately uttered words. Submitting to his son’s desire, he instructed his servants. “Let artisans immediately build for me a beautiful and large sabha (assembly hall), with a thousand pillars and a hundred doors, fit to be seen. When it is scattered with gems and dice everywhere, quietly come and report to me that it has been built well and that it is fit to be entered.” In an attempt to pacify Duryodhana, the lord of the earth then summoned Vidura, because he never took a decision without asking him. Knowing the evils of gambling, he was still attracted towards it because of affection for his son.