Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s11.388

v1.c3.s11.388

Kitava, ‘the gambler,’ is frequently referred to in the Rigveda¹ and later.² A father is represented as chastising his son for gambling.³ The gambler seems at times to have fallen, along with his family, into servitude, presumably by selling himself to pay his debts.⁴ Technical names⁵ for different sorts of gamblers given in the Yajurveda Saṃhitās are Ādinava-darśa, Kalpin, Adhi-kalpin, and Sabhā-sthāṇu. None of these can be safely⁶ explained, though the last has usually⁷ been taken as a satirical name derived from the gambler's devotion to the dicing place (Sabhā), ‘pillar of the dicing hall.’ The first literally means ‘seeing ill-luck,’⁸ and may refer to the quickness of the dicer to note an error on the part of his antagonist, or to his eagerness to see the defeat of his rival.