HYMN OF THE GAMBLER↩

This is one, among the secular hymns, of a group of four which have a didac c character. It is the
lament of a gambler who, unable to resist the fascina on of the dice, deplores the ruin he has
brought on himself and his family. The dice (akṣá̄s) consisted of the nuts of a large tree called
̄́
vibhıdaka (Terminalia bellerica), which is s ll u lized for this purpose in India.

ाव॒ ेप॒ ा मा ॑ बृहत

॒ ो मा ॑दयि त वाते॒जा इ र॑ण॒े ववृतानाः
॑ । सोम ॑ येव मौजवत
॒ य ॑ भ॒ ो िवभ
॒ ीदक
॑ ो ॒ जागृिव
॑ म॒ ॑म छान् ॥

prāvepā mā bṛhato mādayan pravātejā iriṇe varvṛtānāḥ |

somasyeva maujavatasya bhakṣo vibhīdako jāgṛvir mahyam acchān |

|The dangling ones, born in a windy place, of the lo y (tree) gladden me as they roll on the
dice-board. Like the draught of the Soma from Mūjavant, the enlivening Vibhīdaka has pleased
me.

न मा ॑ िममेथ॒ न िज ॑हीळ एष॒ ा िश॒वा सिख ॑ य उत

॒ म ॑मासीत् । अ॒ याह॒ मे ॑कपर॒ य ॑ हेत
॒ ोरनु ॑ ताम
॒ प ॑ जाय
॒ ाम ॑रोधम् ॥

2 ná mā mimetha, ná jihīḷa eṣá̄: śivá̄ sákhibhya utá máhyam āsīt.

akṣásyāhám ekaparásya hetór ánuvratām ápa jāyá̄m arodham.

She does not scold me, she is not angry: she was kind to friends and to me. For the sake of a die
too high by one I have driven away a devoted wife.

ेि ॑ ॒ रू प ॑ जाय
॒ ा ॑ णि ॒ न ना ॑िथ॒तो िव॑ दते मिड॒तार॑म् । अ ॑ येव॒ जर॑तो ॒ व य ॑ य॒ नाहं िव॑ दािम िकत॒व य॒ भोग ॑म् ॥

3 dvéṣṭi śvaśrú̄r; ápa jāyá̄ ruṇaddhi;ná nāthitó vindate marḍitá̄ram:

áśvasyeva járato vásniasya ná̄háṃ vindāmi kitavásya bhógam.

My mother-in-law hates me; my wife drives me away: the man in distress finds none to pity him:
‘I find no more use in a gambler than in an aged horse that is for sale.’

॒ ां प र॑ मृश य य॒ य यागृध॑ ॒ ेदन

अ॒ ये जाय ॑ े वा ॒ य१◌॑◌॒ ः । िपत
॒ ा मात
॒ ा ात ॑र एनमाह॒ न जा ॑नीमो ॒ नय ॑ता ब॒ मे॒ तम् ॥

4 anyé jāyá̄ṃ pári mṛśan asya, yásyá̄gṛdhad védane vājí̆ akṣáḥ.

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pitá̄ mātá̄ bhrá̄tara enam āhur: ‘ná jānīmo, náyatā baddhám etám’.

Others embrace the wife of him for whose possessions the victorious die has been eager. Father,
mother, brothers say of him, ‘we know him not, lead him away bound’.

यदाद॒ ी ये॒ न दि॑ वषा येिभः पराय

॒ द् योऽव ॑ हीये॒ सिख ॑ यः । यु ॑ ा ब॒ वो ॒ वाच॒म ॑ तँ॒ एमीदे ॑षां िन कृ ॒ तं जा ॒ रणीव॑ ॥

5 yád ādí̄dhye: ‘ná daviṣāṇi ebhiḥ; parāyádbhyo áva hīye sákhibhyaḥ’,

níuptāś ca babhrávo vá̄cam ákrataṁ̆ , émıd̄́ eṣāṃ niṣkṛtáṃ jāríṇīva.

When I think to myself, ‘I will not go with them; I shall be le behind by my friends as they
depart (to play)’, and the brown ones, thrown down, have raised their voices, I go straight, like a
courtesan, to their place of assigna on.

स॒भामे ि॑ त िकतव॒ ः पृ ॒ छमा ॑नो जे॒ यामीित ॑ त॒ वा३॒ ◌॑◌॒ शूशु ॑जानः । अ॒ ासो ॑अ य॒ िव ित ॑रि त॒ कामं ॑ ित॒दी ने॒ दधत॑ ॒ आ कृ॒तािन ॑ ॥

6 sabhá̄m e kitaváḥ pṛchámāno, jeṣyá̄mı ̄́ , tanúā śú̄śujānaḥ.

akṣá̄sǒ asya ví ran ká̄maṃ, pra dıvne

̄́ dádhata á̄ kṛtá̄ni.

The gambler goes to the assembly hall, asking himself, ‘shall I conquer’, trembling with his body.
The dice run counter to his desire, bestowing on his adversary at play the lucky throws.

अ॒ ास॒ इदङ ॑ ् कु॒िशनो ॑िनतोि॒ दनो ॑िन॒कृ वा ॑न॒ तप ॑ना तापिय॒ णव ॑: । कु॒मार॒ दे ॑ णा ॒ जय ॑तः पुन॒हणो ॒ म वा ॒ स पृ ॑ ाः िकत॒व य ॑
बह॒ णा ॑ ॥

7 akṣá̄sa íd aṅkuśíno nitodíno, nikṛ́tvānas tápanās tāpayiṣṇávaḥ;

kumārádeṣṇā, jáyataḥ punarháṇo, mádhvā sáṃpṛktāḥ kitavásya barháṇā.

The dice are hooked, piercing, decei ul, burning and causing to burn; presen ng gi s like boys,
striking back the victors, sweetened with honey by magic power over the gambler.

ि ॒प॒ चाश
॒ ः ॑ळित॒ ात ॑ एषां देव॒ इव॑ सिवत
॒ ा स॒ यध ॑मा । उ॒ य ॑ िच म॒ यवे॒ ना न ॑म ते॒ राजा ॑ िचदे यो ॒ नम॒ इ कृ ॑ णोित ॥

8 tripañcāśáḥ krīḷa vrá̄ta eṣāṃ, devá iva Savitá̄ satyádharmā:

ugrásya cin manyáve ná̄ namante; rá̄jā cid ebhyo náma ít kṛṇo .

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Their host of three fi ies plays like god Savitṛ whose laws are true: they bow not before the
wrath of even the mighty; even a king pays them obeisance.

॒ ा व ॑त त उप॒ र॑ फुर यह ॒ तासो ॒ ह त ॑व तं सह ते । िद॒ या अङ्गा ॑रा ॒ इ र॑ण॒े यु ॑ ाः शीत

नीच ॒ ाः स तो ॒ द ॑यं॒ िनदह॑ ि त ॥

9 nīcá̄ vartanta, upári sphuran . ahastá̄so hástavantaṃ sahante.

divyá̄ áṅgārā íriṇe níuptāḥ, śītá̄ḥ sánto, hŕd

̣ ayaṃ nír dahan .

They roll down, they spring upward. Though without hands, they overcome him that has hands.
Divine coals thrown down upon the gaming-board, being cold, they burn up the heart.

जाय
॒ ा त ॑ यते िकत॒व य ॑ हीन
॒ ा मात
॒ ा पु ॒ य॒ चर॑त॒: व ॑ ि वत् । ऋ॒णाव॒ ा िब य॒ न ॑िम॒ छमा ॑नोऽ॒ येषाम
॒ त॒मुप॒ न ॑ मेित ॥

10 jāyá̄ tapyate kitavásya hīná̄, mātá̄ putrásya cárataḥ kúa svit.

ṛṇāvá̄ bíbhyad dhánam ichámāno, anyéṣām ástam úpa náktam e .

Forsaken the wife of the gambler is grieved, the mother (too) of the son that wanders who
knows where. Indebted, fearing, desiring money he approaches at night the house of others.

ि यं ॑ ॒ ् वाय ॑ िकत॒वं त ॑तापा ॒ येषां ॑ जाय ॒ ॒ े अ ा ॑ युयजे

॒ ां सुकृ॑तं च॒ योिनम॑ ् । पूवा ु ॒ िह ब॒ ू सो अ॒ नेर ते ॑ वृषल
॒ ः प॑पाद ॥

11 stríyaṃ dṛṣṭvá̄ya kitaváṃ tatāpa, anyéṣāṃ jāyá̄ṃ, súkṛtaṃ ca yónim.

pūrvāhṇé̆ áśvān yuyujé hí babhrú̄n, sṓ agnér ánte vṛṣaláḥ papāda.

It pains the gambler when he sees a woman, the wife of others, and their well-ordered home.
Since he yokes the brown horses in the [193] morning, he falls down (in the evening) near the
fire, a beggar.

यो व ॑: सेनान
॒ ीम ॑हत
॒ ो ग॒ण य॒ राजा ॒ ात ॑ य थम ॒ वू ॑ । त मै ॑ कृ णोिम॒ न धना ॑ णि म॒ दशाह॒ ं ाची ॒ त त
॒ ो बभ ॒ ं व ॑दािम ॥

12 yó vaḥ senāní̄r maható gaṇásya, rá̄jā vrá̄tasya prathamó babhú̄va,

tásmai kṛṇomi, ‘ná dhaná̄ ruadhmi’; dáśāháṃ prá̄cīs, ‘tád ṛtáṃ vadāmi’.

To him who as the general of your great throng, as king has become the first of your host, I
stretch forth my ten fingers—‘I withhold no money—this is truth I say’.

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yó vaḥ: no specific die is meant, the expression only implying a chief, in the abstract, of the total
number of dice played with. dáśa kṛṇomi prá̄cīḥ: I put the ten (sc. fingers) forward, that is, I
stretch out my two hands. prá̄cīs: A. pl. f. of prá̄ñc, used predica vely (198, 1). tásmai: dat. of
advantage (200 B 1). ná dhaná̄ [194] ruṇadhmi: that is, ‘I have no money le for you;’ these
words in sense come a er prá̄cīs, expressing what is implied by that gesture. ṛtám: predica ve, I
say this as true (198, 1).

ै ा दी ॑ यः कृ ॒ िषिम कृ ॑ ष व िव॒ े र॑म व बह॒ म य ॑मानः । त ॒ गाव ॑: िकतव॒ त ॑ जाय

अ॒ म ॒ ा त मे॒ िव च ॑ े सिवत
॒ ायम॒यः ॥

13 akṣáir má̄ dīvyaḥ; kṛṣím ít kṛṣasva; vi é ramasva, bahú mányamānaḥ;

tátra gá̄vaḥ, kitava, tátra jāyá̄: tán me ví caṣṭe Savitá̄yám aryáḥ.

‘Play not with dice; ply thy llage; rejoice in thy property, thinking much of it; there are thy
ca le, O gambler, there thy wife’: this Savitṛ here, the noble, reveals to me.

॒ ॑ नो ॒ मा नो ॑घोर॒ े ण ॑ चरताि॒ भ धृ ॒ णु । िन वो ॒ नु म॒ युिव ॑शताम

िम॒ ं कृ॑णु वं॒ खलु ॑ मृळता ॒ रा ॑ितर ॒ यो ब ॑ णां
ू ॒ िस ॑तौ ॒ व ॑ तु ॥

14 mitráṃ kṛṇudhvaṃ khálu, mṛḷátā no., má̄ no ghoréṇa caratābhí dhṛṣṇú.

ní vo nú manyúr viśatām, árā r. anyó babhrūṇá̄ṃ prásitau nú astu.

Pray make friendship, be gracious to us. Do not forcibly bewitch us with magic power. Let your
wrath, your enmity now come to rest. Let [195] another now be in the toils of the brown ones.