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
ekaṁ ca vicchāmi bhadra te kriyamāṇaṁ mahīpate | rājann akartavyam api kartum arhasi sattama ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Aún tengo una petición, oh rey bienaventurado. Oh señor de la tierra, deseo que tú lleves a cabo una tarea por mí. Oh rey, aunque sea algo que normalmente te abstendrías de hacer, sin embargo, por consideración hacia mí, debes hacerlo. Escucha: te diré cuál es esa tarea.»
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.