Shloka 12
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
कर्तुमस्मद्विधै््रह्मूंस्ततो5यं न व्यवस्यते । पज्चानां महिषी कृष्णा भवत्विति कथंचन
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
ドリシュタデュムナは言った。「ブラーフマナよ、我らのような者にはこの件を裁定できぬ。クリシュナー（ドラウパディー）が五人の男の正妃となるという提案に、我らは決して同意できない。ダルマの真の本性はきわめて微妙で、その道筋を我らは十分に知らぬ。ゆえに、この行いがダルマかアダルマかを定めることは不可能なのだ。」
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.