# XCIV: Gambling explained — The Kural

> Chapter companion for The Kural by Thiruvalluvar.

## What happens

This chapter warns against the vice of gambling, illustrating how it leads to loss of wealth, reputation, and moral integrity. It compares gambling to a baited hook and emphasizes that even winning is deceptive, as the habit ultimately brings ruin. The text describes how the passion for gambling grows with losses, akin to the soul's craving for life amidst suffering, and concludes that glory, learning, and basic necessities abandon those who indulge.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Vanity of Worldly Life

Gambling is portrayed as a pursuit that leads to the loss of all worldly goods and honor, highlighting the fleeting and destructive nature of such desires.

### Social Harmony and Ethics

The chapter condemns gambling as a vice that corrupts honesty, destroys reputation, and disrupts social order, urging individuals to avoid it for the sake of ethical living.

## Key lines

> Take not to gambling even if thou win: for thy wins are even as the baited hook that the fish swalloweth.

Do not engage in gambling, even if you win, because your gains are like a baited hook that a fish swallows—leading to your downfall.

_This metaphor warns that apparent winnings in gambling are deceptive traps that ultimately cause greater loss._

> The passion for gambling increaseth with the losses incurred in the bettings: even so doth the craving of the soul for life grow with the griefs that it suffereth therein.

The desire for gambling grows as you lose, just as the soul's attachment to life increases through the sufferings it endures.

_This comparison highlights the paradoxical nature of addiction, where losses fuel further obsession._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/xciv-gambling
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters