Shloka 17
सा चाप्युक्तवती वाचं भैक्षवद् भुज्यतामिति । तस्मादेतदहं मन्ये परं धर्म द्विजोत्तम,हमारी माताने भी यही बात कही है कि तुम सब लोग भिक्षाकी भाँति इसका उपभोग करो; अतः द्विजश्रेष्ठ! हम पाँचों भाइयोंके साथ होनेवाले इस विवाहसम्बन्धको परम धर्म मानते हैं
sā cāpy uktavatī vācaṃ bhaikṣavad bhujyatām iti | tasmād etad ahaṃ manye paraṃ dharma dvijottama ||
She too spoke these words: “Let it be enjoyed as alms is shared.” Therefore, O best of the twice-born, I regard this marriage-bond—meant to be shared among us five brothers—as the highest dharma. (Yudhiṣṭhira frames their mother’s instruction as a binding ethical command, elevating obedience and unity over personal preference.)
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira presents obedience to a mother’s spoken command and the preservation of fraternal unity as a form of supreme dharma, even when it leads to an unusual marital arrangement.
After Kuntī’s instruction to “share” what was brought, Yudhiṣṭhira argues before a brāhmaṇa authority that the resulting marriage connection—shared among the five brothers—should be accepted as the highest righteous course.