Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.61.27-28
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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dṛptāḥ
—
arrogant
From √dṛp, 'to be inflamed, intoxicated.' Bhāgavata-key for the asurika temperament — Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa, Bāṇa are all dṛpta. The kings' arrogance frames the entire violence to follow as karmic, not capricious.
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kāliṅga-pramukhāḥ
—
headed by the ruler of Kaliṅga
The Kaliṅga-king will lose his teeth in verse 37 — the verse plants his name now and watches it ripen. Bhāgavata-narrative leaves no name idle.
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akṣaiḥ
—
with dice
Instrumental plural of akṣa. The same word names the akṣa-mālā (rosary) and the axis (akṣa) of a wheel — dice are a 'turning-thing,' a wheel of fortune. Gauḍīyas note that Bhagavān's līlā too is an akṣa-mālā of acts, but the dice in this scene are kāla's, not Kṛṣṇa's.
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anakṣa-jñaḥ
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not expert at dice
an + akṣa-jña, 'not-dice-knower.' The kings' miscalculation: they read Balarāma's playfulness as ignorance. The Bhāgavata silently corrects them — what Balarāma lacks is not knowledge of dice but tolerance of fraud.
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vyasanam
—
fascination, vice
From vi + √as, 'to throw apart.' Vyasana names both fondness and calamity — in Bhāgavata-Sanskrit, the very word for 'addiction' carries the seed of 'disaster.' A pun coiled inside the noun.
Deciding that it would be difficult to defeat Krsna at dice, they told Rukmi to invite Balarama to a game of dice. First the wager was a hundred gold coins, and then a thousand gold coins, then ten thousand gold coins. Balarama became angry within, when Rukmi laughed and showed his teeth.
Hari-vaṁśa describes this: saṁyuktā jṣātayaś caiva rukmiṇaḥ suhṛdaś ca ye / āhūtā rukmiṇā te 'pi tatrājagmur narādhipāḥ // Kings who were relatives and friends of Rukmī, called by Rukmī, came there. Defeat him because (hi) he is not expert. They encouraged Rukmī. O king, as a king you know very well the game of dice. te śubhāṁ kāṣcana-stambhāṁ kusumair bhūṣitājirām / sabhām āviviśur hṛṣṭāḥ siktāṁ candana-vāriṇā // nikṛtyā taṁ jigīṣanto dākṣiṇātyā narādhipāḥ / maṇimuktāḥ suvarṇaṁ ca tatrāninyuḥ sahasraśaḥ // tataḥ prāvartata dyūtaṁ teṣām arati-nāśanam / kalahāyāspadaṁ ghoraṁ durmatīnāṁ kṣayāvaham // Joyfully they entered the auspicious assembly hall with gold pillars, sprinkled with sandal wood water, decorated with flowers. The southern kings, desiring that Rukmī win over Balarāma and defeat him, brought gems, pearls, and gold pieces by the thousands. The game started, destroying their anxiety. The game was filled with commotion, frightening and destructive to the wicked.
The kings were mostly from the south, and were friends of Rukmī. Hari-vaṁśa describes this: saṁyuktā jṣātayaś caiva rukmiṇaḥ suhṛdaś ca ye āhūtā rukmiṇā te 'pi tatrājagmur narādhipāḥ Kings who were relatives and friends of Rukmī, called by Rukmī, came there. The proud kings instigated Rukmī against Balarāma who was very strong (balam). Defeat him decisively (vi) and take away everything (ni). As a king (rājan) you have great knowledge of dice. He has no knowledge. They gambled in the assembly. te śubhāṁ kāṣcana-stambhāṁ kusumair bhūṣitājirām / sabhām āviviśur hṛṣṭāḥ siktāṁ candana-vāriṇā // nikṛtyā taṁ jigīṣanto dākṣiṇātyā narādhipāḥ / maṇimuktāḥ suvarṇaṁ ca tatrāninyuḥ sahasraśaḥ // tataḥ prāvartata dyūtaṁ teṣām arati-nāśanam / kalahāyāspadaṁ ghoraṁ durmatīnāṁ kṣayāvaham // Joyfully they entered the auspicious assembly hall with gold pillars, sprinkled with sandal wood water, decorated with flowers. The southern kings, desiring that Rukmī win over Balarāma and defeat him, brought gems, pearls, and gold pieces by the thousands. The game started, destroying their anxiety. The game was filled with commotion, frightening and destructive to the wicked. Hari-vaṁśa
Like men setting a snare with a piece of cloth they know the tiger cannot resist, the Kaliṅga-king and his fellow rulers dangle dice before Balarāma, banking on His fondness for the game and ignorance of its odds — a snare they will not survive setting.
The Mahābhārata's central catastrophe — Yudhiṣṣhira's dice-match with Śakuni at Hastināpura — is the unspoken backdrop here. There Duryodhana's faction used loaded dice to strip the Pāṇḍavas of kingdom, wife, and freedom. Kṛṣṇa later said He would have intervened had He been present.
The present scene is the Yadu mirror-image: arrogant kings urge Rukmī to defeat Balarāma at dice precisely as Śakuni was urged against Yudhiṣṭhira. But Balarāma is not Yudhiṣṭhira; the snare set for a dharma-king is sprung on the carrier of the plough.
My note
Source: vedabase.io