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The Aksha Sukta (, , ) is one of the
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
s of the
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
which do not have any direct cultic or religious context. It is found in the late Tenth Book (RV 10.34), where most of such hymns on "miscellaneous" topics are found, suggesting a date of compilation corresponding to the early Indian Iron Age. The hymn was composed by either Kanvasha Ailusha or Aksha Maujavant.
Moriz Winternitz Moriz Winternitz ( Horn, December 23, 1863 – Prague, January 9, 1937) was a scholar from Austria who began his Indology contributions working with Max Müller at the Oxford University. An eminent Sanskrit scholar, he worked as a professor ...
considered the poem to be the "most beautiful among the non–religious poems of the Rig Veda."
Arthur Anthony Macdonell Arthur Anthony Macdonell, FBA (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1930) was an Indian-born British linguist and Sanskrit scholar. Biography Macdonell was born at Muzaffarpur in the Tirhut region of the state of Bihar in British India, the son o ...
writes the following about the poem: "Considering that it is the oldest composition of the kind in existence, we cannot but regard this poem as the most remarkable literary product." The poem consists of a monologue of a repentant gambler who laments the ruin brought on him because of addiction to
dice A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...
. The poem is didactic in nature and shows early indications of the proverbial and sententious poetry in later Hindu texts.
Arthur Llewellyn Basham Arthur Llewellyn Basham (24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a British historian, Indologist and author. As a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London in the 1950s and the 1960s, he taught a number of famous historians ...
believed that Gambler's lament was originally constructed as a spell to ensure victory in a game of dice, which was later converted into a cautionary poem by an anonymous poet. The poem testifies to the popularity of gambling among all classes of Vedic people, however it was most important among the kings and ruling class. In the middle Vedic
Rajasuya Rajasuya () is a śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti – universal monarch, in which the tributary princes ...
ritual (consecration of a king), a ritual dice game is played in which the game is rigged so that the king-to-be wins. In the later Hindu epic, the ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'',
Yudhiṣṭhira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the anc ...
gambles away his kingdom,
brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...
,
wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...
, and himself to his
cousins A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, c ...
. The ''Mahabharata'' also mentions the story of
Nala Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...
and
Damayanti Damayanti () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, primarily known for her role in the episode of ''Nala and Damayanti, Nalopakhyana'', which is embedded within the ''Vana Parva'' (the third book) of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c. 400 BCE – ...
, in which Nala gambles away his kingdom. The dharmic texts, which also date to a later period, consider gambling to be a typical trait and vice of kings. The gambling dice (''akșa'') were made from nuts of ''
Terminalia bellirica ''Terminalia bellirica'', known as baheda, bahera, behada, beleric or bastard myrobalan (Arabic: beliledj بليلج, borrowed from Middle Persian Balilag), Persian بلیله (Balileh), Sanskrit: Vibhītaka बिभीतक, Aksha is a large ...
'' (''Vibhīdaka''), into an oblong shape with four scoring sides— kŗta (four), tretā (trey), dvāpar (deuce), kali (ace). The gambler who drew a multiple of four won the game.


Contents

The hymn consists of 14 verses in the
tristubh ''Trishtubh'' (, , IAST: ) is a Vedic metre of 44 syllables (four padas of eleven syllables each), or any hymn composed in this metre. It is the most prevalent metre of the Rigveda, accounting for roughly 40% of its verses. The Trishtubh pada con ...
meter. In verses 2–3, the narrator describes how the dice have ruined his domestic life (trans.
Stephanie W. Jamison Stephanie Wroth Jamison (born July 17, 1948) is an American linguist, currently at University of California, Los Angeles and an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She did her doctoral work at Yale University as a student of ...
and Joel P. Brereton, 2014: The poem then describes the lure of the dice: The dice are referred to as "the brown ones", as they were made from the brown nuts of ''Terminalia bellirica''. In the following verses the dice are described as "deceptive, hot and burning" and being similar to children in that "they give and take again". In verse 13, the poet addresses the gambler in an attempt to reform him, invoking the god
Savitr Savitṛ ( , nominative Grammatical number, singular: , also rendered as Savitur), in Vedic scriptures is an Ādityas, Aditya (i.e., an "offspring" of the Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi). His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, ro ...
.


See also

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Rigvedic dialogue hymns The Rigveda contains a number of dialogue hymns ('s) in the form of dialogues, representing the earliest surviving sample of this genre. It can be argued to be an early precursor of Indian classical drama. They are found in the youngest part of the ...
*
Gambler's conceit Gambler's conceit is the fallacy described by behavioral economist David J. Ewing where a gambler believes they will be able to stop a risky behavior while still engaging in it. The gambler's conceit frequently works in conjunction with the gamb ...
*
Problem gambling Problem gambling, ludopathy, or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to DSM-5 if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological ...


References


Sources

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External links


RV 10.34
at sacred-texts.com {{Rigveda Hindu texts Rigveda Sanskrit texts Vedic hymns Indian poems Works about gambling Gambling in ancient history