Shloka 16
संसारमें बलवान् मनुष्य जिसको धर्म समझता है, धर्मविचारके समय लोग उसीको धर्म मान लेते हैं और बलहीन पुरुष जो धर्म बतलाता है, वह बलवान पुरुषके बताये धर्मसे दब जाता है (अत: इस समय कर्ण और दुर्योधनका बताया हुआ धर्म ही सर्वोपरि हो रहा है।) ।। नविवेक्तुं च ते प्रश्रमिमं शकनोमि निश्चयात् । सूक्ष्मत्वाद् गहनत्वाच्च कार्यस्यास्य च गौरवात्
na vivektuṃ ca te praśnam imaṃ śaknomi niścayāt | sūkṣmatvād gahanatvāc ca kāryasyāsya ca gauravāt ||
Bhīṣma said: “I cannot, with certainty, decide this question for you. The matter is subtle, deeply entangled, and weighty in its consequences.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights that dharma cannot always be reduced to a clear rule: some situations are so subtle, complex, and consequential that even a wise elder hesitates to give a definitive verdict.
In the royal assembly context of the Sabha Parva, Bhīṣma is being pressed to judge a difficult ethical-legal question; he responds that the issue is too intricate and grave to decide with certainty.