Shloka 12
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शमोपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel of Conciliation to Duryodhana
सर्वधर्मविशेषज्ञां स्नुषां पाण्डोर्महात्मन: । ब्रूया माधव कल्याणीं कृष्ण कृष्णां यशस्विनीम्
sarvadharmaviśeṣajñāṃ snuṣāṃ pāṇḍor mahātmanaḥ | brūyā mādhava kalyāṇīṃ kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇāṃ yaśasvinīm ||
ஓ மாதவா! மகாத்மா பாண்டுவின் மருமகளும், தர்மத்தின் நுண்ணிய வேறுபாடுகளை அறிந்தவளும், மங்களமயியும் புகழ்மிக்கவளுமான கிருஷ்ணா—த்ரௌபதியிடம் என் செய்தியைச் சொல்வாயாக.
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds dharma as nuanced and situational (“viśeṣa”): true righteousness is shown through appropriate, duty-aligned conduct within relationships. Draupadī is praised not merely for loyalty but for discerning and performing what is fitting toward each of the Pāṇḍavas according to dharma.
A speaker identified as “the son” asks Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava), acting as a messenger, to convey a respectful commendation to Draupadī—Pāṇḍu’s daughter-in-law—acknowledging her auspicious birth and her proper, dharma-consistent behavior toward the speaker’s sons (the Pāṇḍavas).