โศลก 10.3610.110.210.310.410.510.610.710.810.910.1010.1110.1210.1310.1410.1510.1610.1710.1810.1910.2010.2110.2210.2310.2410.2510.2610.2710.2810.2910.3010.3110.3210.3310.3410.3510.3610.3710.3810.3910.4010.4110.42

I am the gambling of the fraudulent; I am the splendour of the splendid; I am victory; I am determination (of those who are determined); I am the goodness of the good.

Of the deceitful I am the game of dice; I am the brilliance of the brilliant. I am victory, I am resolve, I am the goodness of the good.

This verse holds a surprise. Among the deceitful, Krishna is gambling, the game of dice. For Arjuna the example is painful, since it was a rigged dice game that cost the Pandavas their kingdom and led to this very war. The point is not approval of deceit but the claim that even the most powerful forms of cunning depend on a power that is finally divine. The verse then turns to brilliance, victory, firm resolve and the goodness (sattva) of the good. Light and shadow are again placed side by side, as at the start of the chapter.