Shloka 15
Virāṭa-sabhāyāṃ Saṃniveśaḥ — Assembly at Virāṭa’s Hall and Kṛṣṇa’s Diplomatic Counsel
धर्मार्थयुक्त तु महीपतित्वं॑ ग्रामेडपि कस्मिंश्वचिदयं बुभूषेत् । पित्र्यं हि राज्यं विदितं नृपाणां यथापकृष्टं धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रै:
dharmārthayuktaṃ tu mahīpatitvaṃ grāme ’pi kasmiṃś cid ayaṃ bubhūṣet | pitryaṃ hi rājyaṃ viditaṃ nṛpāṇāṃ yathāpakṛṣṭaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭraputraiḥ ||
Даже владычество над какой-нибудь малой деревней — если оно будет получено в согласии с дхармой и должным порядком — он мог бы согласиться принять. Ибо вам, о цари, хорошо известно, каким неправедным образом сыновья Дхритараштры отняли у Пандавов их отцовское, наследное царство.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa frames a standard of political legitimacy: even a small share of rule is acceptable if gained in harmony with dharma and rightful material order, but the key ethical breach is the Kauravas’ wrongful seizure of the Pāṇḍavas’ ancestral inheritance.
In the opening of Udyoga Parva’s diplomacy setting, Kṛṣṇa speaks to assembled rulers, emphasizing that the Pāṇḍavas are not greedy for vast dominion; the real issue is that their paternal kingdom was unjustly taken by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons.