Shloka 15
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
अविस्थलं वृकस्थलं माकन्दी वारणावतम् | अवसानं च गोविन्द कज्चिदेवात्र पउचमम्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: avi-sthalaṃ vṛka-sthalaṃ mākandī vāraṇāvatam | avasānaṃ ca govinda kaścid evātra pañcamam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Govinda, aku berkata kepada Dhṛtarāṣṭra demikian: ‘Ayah, berikanlah kepada kami Avi-sthala, Vṛka-sthala, Mākandī, Vāraṇāvata, dan sebagai yang kelima, satu desa mana pun yang engkau pilih. Berilah kami hanya lima desa atau kota tempat kelima saudara dapat tinggal bersama, agar karena kami wangsa Bhārata tidak binasa.’”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma in statecraft: even when wronged, one should first seek a minimal, fair settlement to prevent large-scale destruction. Yudhiṣṭhira frames the request as a moral duty to protect the wider community and the dynasty from ruin.
In the lead-up to the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira recounts to Kṛṣṇa that he proposed a compromise to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: the Pāṇḍavas would accept only five settlements—one for each brother—so they could live together and avert a catastrophic war among the Bhāratas.