THE GAMBLING CONFLICT IN THE MAHABHARATA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SANSKRIT, TAMIL, AND MALAY VERSIONS

Abstract

This comparative study examines the gambling episode from the Mahabharata across three different literary
traditions the Sanskrit Mahabharata, the Tamil Villiparatam and the Malay Hikayat Pandawa Lima to identify key
similarities and differences, understand how these variations reflect theological and cultural priorities, and analyze the
unique Tamil innovation of a second gambling match within its Saiva cultural context. The study employs comparative
textual analysis of thirty-two discrete narrative elements identified from the Sanskrit Sabha Parva, the
Tamil Villiparatam and the Malay Hikayat Pandawa Lima. Elements were coded for presence, absence, variation,
modification, addition, or omission across all three versions. While all three versions preserve the core sequence dice
game, Yudhiṣṭhira's loss, Draupadi's humiliation, and Bhima's vengeance vows are significant divergences emerge. The
Tamil version uniquely introduces a second gambling match where Yudhiṣṭhira, after worshipping Krishna, wins back
everything, yet voluntarily enters exile to honour Dhrtarastra's request. The Malay version omits Krishna's miracle
entirely, eliminates the second game and transforms the Pandavas into permanent slaves rather than exiles, with no
subsequent war narrative. The Tamil innovation demonstrates how bhakti theology reshaped the narrative to present
voluntary suffering as devotion and Krishna's grace as superior to human deceit. The Malay redaction reflects
post-Islamisation constraints, where Hindu divine miracles became unacceptable and indigenous performance traditions
influenced localisation. These findings illuminate how classical Indian epics were indigenised across South India and
Southeast Asia in response to distinct religious, cultural and literary contexts. The gambling episode's divergent
resolutions across Sanskrit, Tamil and Malay traditions reveal that adaptation choices were neither random nor merely
abridging, but systematically shaped by theological priorities, cultural constraints and literary tastes, with the Tamil
version representing the most theologically innovative recension.