Shloka 12
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
कर्तुमस्मद्विधै््रह्मूंस्ततो5यं न व्यवस्यते । पज्चानां महिषी कृष्णा भवत्विति कथंचन,धर्मका स्वरूप अत्यन्त सूक्ष्म होनेके कारण हम उसकी गतिको सर्वथा नहीं जानते; अत: यह कार्य अधर्म है या धर्म, इसका निश्चय करना हम-जैसे लोगोंके लिये असम्भव है। ब्रह्म! इसीलिये हम किसी तरह भी ऐसी सम्मति नहीं दे सकते कि राजकुमारी कृष्णा पाँच पुरुषोंकी धर्मपत्नी हो
kartum asmad-vidhair brahmanas tato 'yaṁ na vyavasyate | pañcānāṁ mahiṣī kṛṣṇā bhavatv iti kathaṁcana | dharmasya svarūpam atyanta-sūkṣmaṁ hone ke kāraṇa ham usakī gati ko sarvathā nahīṁ jānte; ataḥ yah kārya adharma hai yā dharma, isakā niścaya karanā ham-jaisē logoṁ ke liye asambhava hai | brahman! isīliye ham kisī tarah bhī aisī sammati nahīṁ de sakte ki rāja-kumārī kṛṣṇā pāṁc puruṣoṁ kī dharma-patnī ho
Dhṛṣṭadyumna said: “O Brahmin, people like us cannot decide upon this matter. We cannot in any way assent to the proposal that Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) should become the chief queen of five men. The true nature of dharma is exceedingly subtle, and we do not fully know its course; therefore it is impossible for us to determine whether this act would be dharma or adharma.”
धष्टहुम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage stresses that dharma is subtle and difficult to judge; therefore one should be cautious about endorsing actions whose moral status is uncertain—especially when they challenge established norms such as a woman being the wife of five men.
In the discussion surrounding Draupadī’s marriage, Dhṛṣṭadyumna expresses reluctance to approve the proposal that she become the principal wife of five men, arguing that the true course of dharma is too subtle for them to determine decisively.