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 ||
Namun, karena hakikat dharma amat halus, kami sama sekali tidak mengetahui jalannya dengan pasti. Maka, bagi orang seperti kami, mustahil menetapkan dengan yakin apakah perbuatan ini adharma atau dharma. Karena itu, wahai Brahman, kami tidak dapat memberi persetujuan dengan cara apa pun bahwa Putri Kṛṣṇā menjadi istri sah menurut dharma bagi lima pria.
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.