Shloka 13
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
युधिछिर उवाच न मे वागनृतं प्राह नाधर्मे धीयते मतिः । वर्तते हि मनो मे5त्र नैषो5धर्म: कथंचन
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | na me vāg anṛtaṃ prāha nādharme dhīyate matiḥ | vartate hi mano me 'tra naiṣo 'dharmaḥ kathaṃcana ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Ucapanku tak pernah menuturkan dusta, dan buddhi-ku tak pernah condong pada adharma. Namun hatiku tertarik pada pernikahan ini; karena itu, hal ini sama sekali bukanlah adharma.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira frames moral discernment as grounded in lifelong commitments to truthfulness and dharma: if one’s speech is truthful and one’s intellect does not incline to adharma, then a sincere inner inclination—when examined against dharma—need not be condemned as unrighteous.
Yudhiṣṭhira is justifying his willingness toward a particular marriage by appealing to his established character (truthful speech and dharmic judgment) and concluding that his present inclination cannot be adharma.