Week 6 Story: Vishnu's Gamble

My husband lived for one thing and one thing alone.

It was not for me, our children, or even the gods who watched over us. No, the only thing my husband lived for was his gambling dice. 

The dice were simple pearlescent stones, but in their shine, my husband saw untold riches. The way they gently clinked in his hand right before he threw them was a melodious veena to his ears. He lived for the thrill of gambling, for the chance to throw his dice and emerge victorious. 

When we were first married, I was blind to his ardor for gambling by my love of him. I tried my best to be a good wife to him by always caring for his needs before my own and never exchanging cross words with him; but it mattered not. Now I saw him with unclouded eyes and knew that I would never be the object of his affection or desire.

Every night, he left his side of our bed cold, instead choosing to wander the streets, looking for his next game. And each morning, when I awoke to a still-empty bed, I prayed. I begged Vishnu for deliverance.

One day, an answer to my prayers appeared, but not in the form I expected. A foreign prince came to our city and brought with him a caravan of untold riches. After greeting our maharaja and bestowing lavish gifts to all the noble families, he stood in the center of the marketplace and issued a proclamation:

"I am the most skilled gambler in the entire world. Any man who believes my statement to be untrue, come forward and prove me wrong. I will wager my entire fortune."

My husband immediately stepped forward and matched the prince's proclamation:

"Noble visitor, before you stands the best gambler in these regions. The only reason you are still the best in the entire world is because you have yet to sit down to a dice game with me.”

The prince smiled at my husband and gestured for the two of them to sit at the prince's gambling board. As both men took their seats, the prince looked straight at me and softly smiled. My heart stopped as I recognized the foreign prince as Vishnu in disguise. I lowered my gaze and reverently bowed my head to the incognito god. My formality to him complete, Vishnu turned to my husband with a gleam in his eyes. 

"Now, good sir, let us see if your statement holds true. Before we begin, may I be allowed to clarify the wager?" My husband nodded and Vishnu continued, "The wager for both men was set to be our entire fortunes, does that include your family?" My husband barely paused before joking, "My wife and children are no pile of gold, let us not throw such trivial things into a serious game like this." I gasped slightly at his unkind words, but I was grateful nonetheless to not be a wager. Vishnu forced a smile and said, "As you wish."

For all the buildup to this moment, the game itself was over quickly. My husband had lost, his mouth agape at his turn of fortune. He quickly composed himself and boldly asked the prince for another chance. Vishnu grimly smiled, "What else do you have to gamble? I have won your entire fortune." My husband barely paused before exclaiming, "I will wager my family. I have a wife and two strong boys." Vishnu glanced at my anxious face before countering my husband's plea, "You said so yourself, they are no pile of gold, why would I want them now? Instead, let us wager our lives. If you win, you will win your possessions, my possessions, and myself as your servant." My husband hastily agreed, his face brightening like he had already won.

The dice clattered to the board and Vishnu smiled broadly, "I win once more." My husband turned to me, his eyes pleading for help. Vishnu smiled knowingly at me and I felt a wave of guilt. My prayers had been answered, but at what cost? I walked to the gambling table and humbly asked if I might play to win my husband's freedom.

(A man and woman gambling, Express Digest)

At this, Vishnu's jaw dropped, "You wish to save the man who has treated you so poorly?" My gaze lowered from the god's incredulous stare, "My lord, you know my innermost desire. While I might pine for freedom, I will not gain it at the expense of another's captivity." Vishnu seemed impressed, and thought for a moment before seating himself at the board again. "If you wish to play to free your husband, I will allow it. But if you have thus set my wager, then I must set yours." I nodded in agreement, and Vishnu continued, "If you lose, you must give me your sons in addition to your husband." My eyes widened at the thought of losing my sons, but my husband scrambled to my side, his mind already made up, "Do it my love, I know this time we will be lucky. Just roll the dice quickly!" With this, he shoved his dice into my hands. 

At this, my fury rose. I pushed my husband off my arm, stood up, and threw the dice at his feet. "Wicked man!" I shouted, "You would give up your children to correct your mistake, such impudence! My sons are the only reason we do not go hungry. You may have gambled our riches and even yourself, but you will not lay a finger on my sons." I quickly calmed my anger and turned towards Vishnu, bowing deeply. "Forgive me for my anger, my lord. I no longer wish to gamble." Vishnu smiled, stood up, and walked towards his caravan with my husband in tow. I felt an ache at losing him, but I would never gamble something so precious as my children.

Author's Note: This story is very loosely based on the scene when Yudhistira gambled away his fortune, himself, his four brothers, and finally his wife. Draupadi is adamant that Yudhistira had no right to use her as a wager, because he had already gambled himself, but the men ignore Draupadi's point and instead try to force her sari off of her. She is saved by Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who turns her sari into one continuous bolt of fabric that cannot be pulled away. Yudhistira's single-minded gambling obsession frustrated me, and I wondered why Draupadi or Yudhistira's brothers didn't stop him. My intention when starting to write this story was for the husband to realize the error of his ways and become a hero for his family, but the story progressed in such a way that the wife became the heroine for treating her husband well despite his neglect, for being willing to gamble to save him, but then being wise enough to not neglect her sons like she had been neglected by her husband. I like to think that Vishnu did not take the husband's fortune and instead left it for the wife and her sons, who truly earned it. I hope that gambling himself into slavery finally causes a change of heart for the husband, but who knows if he actually took the lesson to heart?

Bibliography: The Mahabharata by R.K.Narayan