Shloka 29
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
तस्मिन्नुभयतोदोषे कुर्वन् श्रेय: समाचरेत् । अयं नः सर्वधर्माणां धर्मश्षिन्त्यतमो मत:
tasminn ubhayato-doṣe kurvan śreyaḥ samācaret | ayaṃ naḥ sarva-dharmāṇāṃ dharmaś cintyatamo mataḥ ||
যেখানে উভয় দিকেই দোষের আশঙ্কা থাকে, সেখানে যা অধিক কল্যাণকর তাই করা উচিত। আমাদের মতে সকল ধর্মের মধ্যে কন্যাদান-সংক্রান্ত এই ধর্মই সর্বাধিক চিন্তনীয়।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
When every available option carries some fault, one should choose the course that best serves śreyas—the higher, long-term good—after careful deliberation; duties around marriage arrangements are presented as especially sensitive and worthy of deep thought.
Yudhiṣṭhira raises a dilemma: if a marriage promise is reversed, it risks the fault of breaking one’s word; if a better match is rejected, it risks harming the maiden’s welfare. He asks what action makes the giver of the maiden a participant in what is truly auspicious, emphasizing that this dharma demands the most careful consideration.