Shloka 2
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 27 — Saṃjaya’s Counsel on Dharma, Desire, and the Non-Perishing of Karma
यत्राधर्मो धर्मरूपाणि धत्ते धर्म: कृत्स्नो दृश्यतेडधर्मरूप: । बिश्रद् धर्मो धर्मरूपं तथा च विद्वांसस्तं सम्प्रपश्यन्ति बुद्धया,कहीं तो अधर्म ही धर्मका रूप धारण कर लेता है, कहीं पूर्णतया धर्म ही अधर्म दिखायी देता है तथा कहीं धर्म अपने वास्तविक स्वरूपको ही धारण किये रहता है। विद्वान् पुरुष अपनी बुद्धिसे विचार करके उसके असली रूपको देख और समझ लेते हैं
yatrādharmo dharmarūpāṇi dhatte dharmaḥ kṛtsno dṛśyate ’dharmarūpaḥ | viśraddharmaḥ dharmarūpaṃ tathā ca vidvāṃsas taṃ samprapaśyanti buddhyā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “In some situations, adharma puts on the appearance of dharma; in others, dharma in its entirety is seen as though it were adharma; and in still others, dharma remains in its own true form. The wise, by careful discernment, perceive its real nature with their understanding.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not always recognizable by outward labels: wrongdoing can masquerade as righteousness, and true righteousness can be misjudged as wrongdoing. Therefore, one must use buddhi (discriminative intelligence) to discern the real ethical nature of an act, not merely its appearance.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the difficulty of judging right action amid political conflict. He notes that in complex situations surrounding the coming war, dharma and adharma can appear reversed, and only the wise can correctly perceive what is truly right.