Shloka 7
Sundopasundayor Digvijayaḥ — The Conquests of Sunda and Upasunda
Nārada’s Account
अधर्मेण च राज्यं त्वं प्राप्तवान् भरतर्षभ | तेडपि राज्यमनुप्राप्ता: पूर्वमेवेति मे मति:,भरतश्रेष्ठ! तुमने अधर्मपूर्वक इस राज्यको हथिया लिया है; परंतु मेरा विचार यह है कि तुमसे पहले ही वे भी इस राज्यको पा चुके थे
adharmeṇa ca rājyaṃ tvaṃ prāptavān bharatarṣabha | te 'pi rājyam anuprāptāḥ pūrvam eveti me matiḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Stier unter den Bharatas, du hast das Reich auf unrechte Weise erlangt. Doch nach meinem wohlbedachten Urteil hatten auch sie dieses selbe Reich schon vor dir in Besitz.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Political success gained through adharma is morally compromised; Bhīṣma frames kingship as an ethical matter and weighs competing claims to legitimacy, stressing that prior possession or claim can complicate judgments about wrongdoing.
Bhīṣma addresses a Bharata ruler who has seized the kingdom by unrighteous means, but he adds a qualifying assessment: the opposing party had, in his view, already obtained or established possession of the kingdom earlier—introducing a dispute over rightful claim and succession.