Shloka 26
अर्हणनिर्णयः
Decision on the Highest Honor at the Assembly
युधिछिर उवाच कस्मै भवान् मन्यते<र्घ्यमेकस्मै कुरुनन्दन । उपनीयमान युक्त च तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kasmai bhavān manyate ’rghyam ekasmai, Kurunandana? upanīyamānaṃ yuktaṃ ca tan me brūhi, Pitāmaha.
युधिष्ठिर बोले—हे कुरुनन्दन पितामह! इन समागत नरेशों में किस एक को सबसे पहले अर्घ्य देना आप उचित मानते हैं? यह अर्घ्य प्रस्तुत हो रहा है; जो धर्मसम्मत हो, वह मुझे बताइए।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic discernment in public honor: ceremonial precedence should be decided by what is truly fitting (yukta) and guided by wise elders, not by impulse or factional preference.
In the royal assembly, as an honor-offering (arghya) is about to be presented among many gathered rulers, Yudhiṣṭhira asks the revered elder Bhīṣma to decide who should receive the first and foremost honor.