Shloka 1
अग्राह्य-ज्ञातिसंबन्धमण्डल-विवेचनम् / Managing Unreadable Kinship Networks: Vāsudeva–Nārada on Cohesion
युधिष्ठिरने पूछा-पितामह! यदि सजातीय बन्धुओं और सगे-सम्बन्धियोंके समुदायको पारस्परिक स्पर्धाके कारण वशमें करना असम्भव हो जाय, कुट॒म्बीजनोंमें ही यदि दो दल हों तो एकका आदर करनेसे दूसरा दल रुष्ट हो ही जाता है। ऐसी परिस्थितिके कारण यदि मित्र भी शत्रु बन जाय, तब उन सबके चित्तको किस प्रकार वशमें किया जा सकता है?
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—Pitāmaha! yadi sajātīya-bandhūnāṃ sage-sambandhināṃ ca samūhaḥ paraspara-spardhā-kāraṇāt vaśīkartuṃ na śakyaḥ syāt; kuṭumbijaneṣu eva yadi dvau dalau syātām, ekasya ādaraṇena dvitīya-dalaḥ ruṣyati eva. etādṛśyāḥ paristhiteḥ kāraṇāt yadi mitrāṇi api śatravaḥ bhaveyuḥ, tadā teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ cittāni kathaṃ vaśīkartuṃ śakyāni?
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather, if a circle of one’s own kinsmen and close relations becomes impossible to bring under control because of mutual rivalry—if even within a household there are two factions, then honoring one inevitably angers the other. When such conditions turn even friends into enemies, how can the hearts of all those people be brought under one’s influence?”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic problem of governance: when rivalry splits even one’s own kin into factions, mere partiality or selective honor breeds resentment. Effective rule must therefore seek methods that reconcile competing interests and win hearts rather than relying only on force or favoritism.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira, seeking guidance on righteous rule after the war, asks Bhīṣma how a leader can manage internal divisions—especially among relatives—when honoring one side provokes the other and even friends become enemies.