Shloka 41
अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)
एकं च्विच्छामि भद्र| ते क्रियमाणं महीपते । राजन्नकर्तव्यमपि कर्तुमहसि सत्तम,परंतु पृथ्वीपते! आपका कल्याण हो। मैं आपके द्वारा अपना भी एक काम कराना चाहता हूँ। साधु शिरोमणे! वह न करने योग्य होनेपर भी मेरी ओर देखते हुए आपको अवश्य करना चाहिये। वीरवर! सुनिये; मैं वह कार्य आपको बता रहा हूँ। महाराज! आप इस भूतलपर संग्राममें सारथिका काम करनेके लिये वसुदेवनन्दन भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके समान माने ये हैं
ekaṁ ca vicchāmi bhadra te kriyamāṇaṁ mahīpate | rājann akartavyam api kartum arhasi sattama ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “One more request I have, O blessed king. O lord of the earth, I wish to have a task carried out by you. O king, though it may be something you would normally refrain from doing, yet, out of regard for me, you ought to do it. Listen; I shall tell you that task.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic tension: a respected person may be asked to do something ordinarily improper (akartavya), yet personal obligation, loyalty, or a higher purpose can be invoked to justify compliance—raising the ethical question of when, if ever, exceptions to propriety are warranted.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king with honorifics and asks him to perform a specific task. He signals that the task may be against normal standards of conduct, but urges the king to do it out of consideration for him, and prepares to state the request explicitly.