Texts 27-28
tasmin nivṛtta udvāhe
kāliṅga-pramukhā nṛpāḥ
dṛptās te rukmiṇaṁ procur
balam akṣair vinirjaya
anakṣa-jño hy ayaṁ rājann
api tad-vyasanaṁ mahat
ity ukto balam āhūya
tenākṣair rukmy adīvyata
tasmin — when that; nivṛtte — was finished; udvāhe — the marriage ceremony; kāliṅga-pramukhāḥ — headed by the ruler of Kaliṅga; nṛpāḥ — kings; dṛptāḥ — arrogant; te — they; rukmiṇam — to Rukmī; procuḥ — spoke; balam — Balarāma; akṣaiḥ — with dice; vinirjaya — you should defeat; anakṣa-jñaḥ — not expert in gambling with dice; hi — indeed; ayam — He; rājan — O King; api — although; tat — with that; vyasanam — His fascination; mahat — great; iti — thus; uktaḥ — addressed; balam — Lord Balarāma; āhūya — inviting; tena — with Him; akṣaiḥ — at dice; rukmī — Rukmī; adīvyata — played.
After the wedding, a group of arrogant kings headed by the King of Kaliṅga told Rukmī, “You should defeat Balarāma at dice. He’s not expert at dice, O King, but still He’s quite addicted to it.” Thus advised, Rukmī challenged Balarāma and began a gambling match with Him.