Tethered ; Arjun and Draupadi

4. The Dyut Sabha begins

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The game of dice was about to begin. Shakuni announced, "Samrat Yudhishthir, Yuvraj Duryodhan, you both must remember that only things of similar value can be bet against each other. Now, one cannot bet a singular gold coin against a cow, right?". Yudhishthir and Duryodhan nodded in agreement.

Duryodhan announced his bets for the round. "I have been generously gifted one lakh pure gold coins and five villages by my respected father, Kuru Samrat Dhritarashtra. Being gifts intended for me, I have complete rights on the gold coins and the villages. And the gifts being a token of my father's generosity and love, are of great pride to me. Thus, I bet on one lakh gold coins and five villages for this round". Before Yudhishthir could announce his bet, Duryodhan added, "Jyesht Bhrata Yudhishthir, remember, you cannot bet your enormous kingdom which you are so proud of against my mere one lakh gold coins and five villages. Not yet, at least". Duryodhan smirked. Yudhishthir shrugged the malice oozing from Duryodhan away and said, "Do not worry, Anuj. That will not be necessary". "I bet on one lakh pure gold coins and five villages from my personal property". Yudhishthir declares.

Shakuni led the two men towards the podium where the board for the game had been placed. The Crown Prince of Hastinapur chose the black set of pawns. The Supreme Emperor of Indraprasth chose the white set. Shakuni claps his hands thrice signalling his assistant to bring in the dices. His special dices. His dices worked on his command. They had been carved by him with his own hands out of his late father's bones. Shakuni's assistant arrived with a plate on which a red cloth was laid out. On the piece of cloth, were the manipulative dices. Shakuni palmed his dices and smirked. He looked at Duryodhan, signalling him to declare that he would be rolling the dices on behalf of Duryodhan, to which Duryodhan nodded and said, "I choose Mamashree to roll the dices on my behalf. I have complete faith in him". Yudhishthir protested saying, "But the dices have to be rolled by the player himself, Duryodhan". "But there is no set-in-stone rule regarding this, Jyesht Bhrata. You too can pick one of your brothers or anyone to roll the dices on your behalf", said Duryodhan. Reluctantly, Yudhishthir agreed but decided to roll the dices himself either way. Shakuni began to explain the working of the game but was cut off by Yudhishthir saying, "Mamashree, I am against Dyut, not ignorant towards it. Let's start". Yudhishthir smiled at Shakuni. "As you say, Samrat".

Shakuni rolled the dices and on the very first turn, Duryodhan's first pawn was launched into the game. Yudhishthir's first pawn was launched in the second turn.

Gradually, three of Yudhishthir's pawns had been defeated and three of Duryodhan's as well. It was one pawn versus one pawn towards the end of the game. The anticipation had every person present in the courtroom on the edge of their seats. Shakuni palmed the dices and whispered his desired points and the threw them on to the board. The manipulative dices showed exactly the points as asked by Shakuni. Thus, Duryodhan had won the first round.

Yudhishthir smiled and said, "Congratulations, brother. I will gladly give you your share that you have won. Now let us head to our chambers and prepare for the evening feast". Duryodhan said, "Wait, Jyesht Bhrata. This was only the first round". "But you have already bet on all your property, Duryodhan", said Yudhishthir. "But there are things that I have rights on that are still left", Duryodhan said with a malicious expression. He declared, "The entire kingdom of Hastinapur is my father's property and according to tradition, a son has rights over his father's property. So, I bet on the entire kingdom of Hastinapur in this round". Vidur, Bheeshma, Guru Dronacharya along with Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev wore an amalgamation of shock, disapproval and disappointment altogether on their faces. King Dhritarashtra who was shocked as well, expressed, "My son, you cannot gamble away an entire kingdom like that". "Maharaj is correct, Duryodhan. You cannot do that. I, the protector of Hastinapur, forbid you", declared Bheeshma. Duryodhan clenched his jaw in anger. Shakuni stepped in and said, "Maharaj, you can surely respect your beloved son's wishes. Can you not, Maharaj? Besides, in a few days time, the kingdom will belong to Duryodhan anyway considering he is the Yuvraj". It was not the first time he had tried to lure Dhritarashtra into a guilt trap. Dhritarashtra, who was weak with attachment for his son allowed it. Duryodhan smiled pridefully and turned to Bheeshma and said, "Before you try to protest against it, Pitamaha, need I remind you that you have pledged to accept the word of Hastinapur's King and Crown Prince as the word of God? Need I remind you that you are a servant?". Bheeshma silently endured the disrespect. Afterall, he had bound himself even tighter with Hastinapur's throne in order to give his beloved grand children, the Pandavas, their rights and a chance to lead a happy life. Shakuni chuckled and turned to Yudhishthir and said, "So, Samrat? Are you ready to bet on your beloved Indraprasth?". Yudhishthir looked at his brothers and witnessed their disapproval and then replied, "Apologies, Mamashree. But I no longer wish to participate in the game. I will gladly give away what Duryodhan has won in the previous round. I would like to take your leave now". Duryodhan was worried that his revenge was slipping out of his hands. Shakuni stopped Yudhishthir and said, "But, Samrat, isn't it against your principles of righteousness to back out of a game that you had committed to playing?". Shakuni knew that being adherent to his principles and truthfulness was Yudhishthir's Achilles' heel. This made Yudhishthir stop in his track and turn back. Reluctantly, Yudhishthir returned to the podium and took his seat again. Sahadev's premonition got stronger and stronger as the voice in his head continued to ask him to leave with his brothers and Draupadi. But Sahadev was bound to Yudhishthir's word. He could not disobey Yudhishthir's decision. Sahadev bit his tongue and sat down.