Shloka 15
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
अविस्थलं वृकस्थलं माकन्दी वारणावतम् | अवसानं च गोविन्द कज्चिदेवात्र पउचमम्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: avi-sthalaṃ vṛka-sthalaṃ mākandī vāraṇāvatam | avasānaṃ ca govinda kaścid evātra pañcamam ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O Govinda, sinabi ko kay Dhṛtarāṣṭra ang ganito: ‘Ama, ipagkaloob mo sa amin ang Avi-sthala, Vṛka-sthala, Mākandī, Vāraṇāvata, at bilang ikalima, alinmang nayon na piliin mo. Ibigay mo sa amin ang limang nayon o bayan lamang upang ang limang magkakapatid ay makapamuhay nang magkakasama, at upang dahil sa amin ay hindi mapuksa ang angkan ng Bhārata.’”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma in statecraft: even when wronged, one should first seek a minimal, fair settlement to prevent large-scale destruction. Yudhiṣṭhira frames the request as a moral duty to protect the wider community and the dynasty from ruin.
In the lead-up to the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira recounts to Kṛṣṇa that he proposed a compromise to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: the Pāṇḍavas would accept only five settlements—one for each brother—so they could live together and avert a catastrophic war among the Bhāratas.