Gambler's Lament

[5] The poem consists of a monologue of a repentant gambler who laments the ruin brought on him because of addiction to dice.

[4] The poem is didactic in nature and shows early indications of the proverbial and sententious poetry in later Hindu texts.

[6] Arthur Llewellyn Basham believed that Gambler's lament was originally constructed as a spell to ensure victory in a game of dice, which was later converted into a cautionary poem by an anonymous poet.

The dharmic texts, which also date to a later period, consider gambling to be a typical trait and vice of kings.

[9] The gambling dice (akșa) were made from nuts of Terminalia bellirica (Vibhīdaka),[10] into an oblong shape with four scoring sides— kŗta (four), tretā (trey), dvāpar (deuce), kali (ace).