Shloka 11
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
न तु धर्मस्य सूक्ष्मत्वाद् गतिं विद्य कथंचन । अधर्मो धर्म इति वा व्यवसायो न शक््यते
na tu dharmasya sūkṣmatvād gatiṁ vidma kathaṁcana | adharmo dharma iti vā vyavasāyo na śakyate ||
Pero, como la naturaleza del dharma es sumamente sutil, no podemos discernir de ningún modo su curso verdadero. Por ello, para gente como nosotros es imposible decidir con certeza si este acto es adharma o dharma. Por esta razón, oh brahmán, no podemos de manera alguna dar nuestro asentimiento a que la princesa Kṛṣṇā sea la esposa legítima de cinco hombres.
धष्टहुम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that dharma is subtle and difficult to judge with certainty; therefore one should be cautious about issuing definitive moral-legal verdicts, especially in unprecedented situations.
In the discussion about Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) becoming the wife of five men, the speaker refuses to give approval, arguing that it is impossible for them to decide conclusively whether such an act is dharma or adharma because dharma’s true course is extremely subtle.