Shloka 20
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
भवता वारिता: सर्वे भ्रातरो भीमविक्रमा: । धर्मपाशनिबद्धाश्न न किंचित् प्रतिपेदिरे
bhavatā vāritāḥ sarve bhrātaro bhīmavikramāḥ | dharmapāśanibaddhāś ca na kiñcit pratipedire ||
Du hieltest alle meine Brüder zurück, obwohl sie zu furchterregender Tapferkeit fähig waren. Vom Strick des Dharma gebunden, konnten sie damals jener Ungerechtigkeit nichts entgegensetzen.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one has the power to retaliate, dharma can impose restraint; moral duty may require enduring wrong without immediate violent response, highlighting the tension between righteous conduct and the impulse to punish injustice.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the person who checked the Pāṇḍavas, saying that although his brothers were capable of formidable action, they were held back; because they were bound by dharma, they did not respond to the wrongdoing at that moment.