Duryodhan is humiliated with the incident that had occurred at Indraprasth. To avenge
his humiliation, Shakuni and Duryodhan hatch an evil plan of defeating the Pandavas in
a game of dice. They convince Dhritarashtra to support the match and ask him to invite
the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra sends Vidur to Indraprasth to invite the Pandavas. The Pandavas
agree to take up the challenge and leave for Hastinapur.
When Vidur visited the Pandavas and told them about the invitation, Yudhishtir agreed to
the offer. Although suspicious of Shakuni’s guile, Yudhishtir could not reject the invitation.
Yudhishtir loved to gamble and rejecting the invitation would have tainted his honour.
The third reason was that Yudhishtir did not want any unnecessary disputes to arise with
his cousins by rejecting the offer. Hence, he agreed.
Upon reaching Hastinapur, the Pandavas were received with little enthusiasm by the Kauravas.
Duryodhan and Shakuni were overjoyed to see the Pandavas accept their offer. After spending
the night in their rooms, the Pandavas were guided to the imperial court at Jayant, the
next morning, which was built specially for the game. Seeing the splendour of the grand
court that Maya had built for the Pandavas, the Kauravas imitated the same by constructing
the court at Jayant.
At the court the Pandavas sat against Shakuni and the Kauravas. The game of dice was placed
before them. Before the game commenced, Duryodhan announced that he would supply all the coins
and gems while his uncle would roll the dice for him. Yudhishtir protested as assigning
a substitute went against the terms of the game and was not allowed. Shakuni, in response,
accused Yudhisthir of being a coward.
To avoid arguments, Yudhishtir conceded and the game of dice began. The hall in which
the match was taking place was filled with audience who held their breath with apprehension.
Among them were Bhishma, Vidur, Drona and Dhritarashtra. They were all anxious about
the game. There seemed to be much tension in the air.
Before the dice was rolled, Yudhishtir wagered his wealth of pearls while Duryodhan bet his
wealth and riches. Shakuni, the master gambler, threw the dice and won the first match. This
made the atmosphere more tense as people were apprehending the worse. With the first victory,
Duryodhan took possession of the Pandava wealth of pearls.
The game, however, did not stop. Yudhishtir went ahead to wager his treasury of gold,
silver and fine jewels. As the dice was rolled again, sounds of cheers for Shakuni vibrated
through the hall. Shakuni won the second round too and took possession of Yudhishtir’s
wealth. Following his defeat, Yudhishtir wagered his chariot, his army, his horses and his
kingdom, all of which were taken away by the Kauravas in the successive rounds as they
kept winning round after round with Shakuni’s help.
Having lost all his wealth and possessions, Yudhishtir was now left with nothing. While
Shakuni and Duryodhan instigated Yudhishtir to gamble, Yudhishtir wandered into confusion
and indecision. The decision he would make now would spell doom for his clan in the days to come.