Shloka 17
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
सा चाप्युक्तवती वाचं भैक्षवद् भुज्यतामिति । तस्मादेतदहं मन्ये परं धर्म द्विजोत्तम
sā cāpy uktavatī vācaṃ bhaikṣavad bhujyatām iti | tasmād etad ahaṃ manye paraṃ dharma dvijottama ||
Dia juga mengucapkan kata-kata ini: “Nikmatilah ia sebagaimana sedekah dibahagi bersama.” Maka, wahai yang terbaik antara kaum dwija, aku menganggap ikatan perkahwinan ini—yang harus dikongsi antara kami lima bersaudara—sebagai dharma yang tertinggi.
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.