Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 528

the stanza in which Nakula's stake was declared is in the Anustubh while the stanzas in which the stakes of Sahadeva, Arjuna and Bhima were declared are in the Tristubh. We would normally not have laid stress on this difference in the metres because such a change is not uncommon in the Mbh. But the difference between the two stanzas is not merely formal, it also extends to the mode of declaring the stake. We have assumed that in the lost version Yudhisthira first declared only his five stakes without playing the games immediately following the declaration of each stake. In that situation it is possible for Yudhisthira to use such expressions as 'this is my first stake', 'this is my second stake' etc. after the declaration of each stake. In fact Yudhisthira does use such an expression while declaring the first stake of Nakula (nakulo glaha eko me 2.58.11). But in the standard version of the game where each time the game was played immediately after the announcement of the stake, such expressions 'this is my first, this is my second stake, etc.' have no place, and we do not find Yudhisthira saying 'this is my second stake' when he staked Sahadeva and the rest. Hence it appears that stanza 2.58.11 declaring the stake of Nakula also belonged to the same lost version to which stanza 2.58.30 belongs.
5) When Draupadi was dragged to the Assembly hall she said: "The skilled gamblers challenged the inexperienced Yudhisthira to a game of dice and they all together defeated him (ähūya rājā kuśalaiḥ sabhāyām... nätikṛtaprayatnaḥ... sambhūya sarvais' ca jitaḥ 2.60.43-44). This account does not agree with what had happened before. It was Sakuni who invited Yudhisthira to a game (2.53.1), and when Yudhisthira asked against whom he was supposed to play. Duryodhana announced that he would be responsible for the stakes but the game would be played by Sakuni (2.53.10). The game was then played only between Sakuni and Yudhisthira and none of the gamblers present in the Hall is reported to have taken part in the game at any stage. The stanza in which Draupadi complained that Yudhisthira was defeated, not by Sakuni, but by all the gamblers playing together" must have been interpolated in the standard version from a different account of the game.
This assumed version finds its echo at three different places in the Mbh.. First, Vikarna, while stating his case, said that Yudhisthira was challenged by the gamblers when he staked Draupadi (samahûtena kitavair asthito draupadipaṇaḥ 2.61.22). Secondly, Satyaki asked Balarama: "The skilled gamblers challenged the one who was not an expert with dice and defeated him. How could this be called a lawful victory ?" (5.3.6)11. Finally, Yudhisthira himself once said that he was challenged to a game by skilled gamblers and was deprived of his kingdom (3.49.32). It is surprising that Draupadi, Vikarna, Satyaki, and Yudhisthira do not mention Sakuni at all.
Hence we have to assume that there was a version of the event in which the
gamblers in the Hall, all of them expert, and not Śakuni, defeated Yudhisthira. All the above references really belong to that version."2
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