________________
3.35.2, 4)
It is impossible to reconcile these statements with the account narrated in the Sabhāparvan. There we are told that it was Sakuni who suggested to Duryodhana to take recourse to the safe expedient of dyūta to deprive the Pandavas of their accumulated wealth. Hence Dḥtarăstra invited the Pandavas for a game dice. But on Yudhisthira's own admission it appears that Dhstarāştra may have invited Pandavas just to pay a visit to the newly built Sabha and not for a game of dice. But once in the Sabhā, Yudhisthira was seized by the desire to play a game and deprive Duryodhana of his kingdom. It is conceivable that Yudhisthira was superior to Duryodhana in playing the game and hence he challenged him. Unfortunately, however, Sakuni took up the challenge; Yudhisthira could not withdraw, and in the process lost everything to Sakuni.
This account in the Aranyakaparvan must belong to a different version. The Udyogaparvan account, noticed above, too holds Yudhisthira responsible for the start of the game, but does not attribute specific motive to him. The Āranyakaparvan account goes beyond it and attributes a selfish motive to Yudhisthira in taking recourse to dice.
The Aranyakaparvan account further alludes to a different mode of play. According to Yudhisthira, the dice always resulted as Śakuni wanted them to be. They turned out to be odd if he wanted them odd, or even if that was what he desired. This means that the total number of dice thrown on the playing ground by the two players was divided by two and not by four. It also means that after Yudhisthira threw the dice, when Sakuni followed Yudhisthira he declared in advance how the dice would turn out, odd or even'. The result of each game went in Sakuni's favour.
On the other hand, from the various allusions in the Mbh. (5.140.7, 9 etc.; 4.45.24) to the game of dice in the Sabhäparvan it can be assumed that the Sabhāparvan game agreed with the Vedic game of dice in that the total number of dice thrown on the playing ground was divided by four. Apparently Sakuni always succeeded in that game in getting the number exactly divisible by four and hence he won.
The different versions of the events in the game of dice may be charted as follows:
The Game of Dice in the Müh. -- Different Accounts of certain Events
Duryodhana, jealous of Pandavas' wealth suggested the Game of Dice to Dhrtarāstra (2.45; 35; 40; 2.51.4)
Madhu Vidya/505
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
