Shloka 11
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
न तु धर्मस्य सूक्ष्मत्वाद् गतिं विद्य कथंचन । अधर्मो धर्म इति वा व्यवसायो न शक््यते
na tu dharmasya sūkṣmatvād gatiṁ vidma kathaṁcana | adharmo dharma iti vā vyavasāyo na śakyate ||
Ngunit dahil ang likas na anyo ng dharma ay napakaselan, hindi natin ganap na matunton ang landas nito sa anumang paraan. Kaya para sa mga tulad natin, hindi maaaring tiyakin kung ang gawang ito ay adharma o dharma. Dahil dito, O Brahmana, hindi kami makapagbibigay ng pagsang-ayon sa anumang paraan na ang Prinsesa Kṛṣṇā ay maging legal na asawa ng limang lalaki.
धष्टहुम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses that dharma is subtle and difficult to judge with certainty; therefore one should be cautious about issuing definitive moral-legal verdicts, especially in unprecedented situations.
In the discussion about Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) becoming the wife of five men, the speaker refuses to give approval, arguing that it is impossible for them to decide conclusively whether such an act is dharma or adharma because dharma’s true course is extremely subtle.