Shloka 29
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
तस्मिन्नुभयतोदोषे कुर्वन् श्रेय: समाचरेत् । अयं नः सर्वधर्माणां धर्मश्षिन्त्यतमो मत:
tasminn ubhayato-doṣe kurvan śreyaḥ samācaret | ayaṃ naḥ sarva-dharmāṇāṃ dharmaś cintyatamo mataḥ ||
当两边似乎都要招致过失时，应当行事以求取更大的善。在我们看来，诸般义务之中，此义务——关于将少女出嫁——最值得细致而审慎的思量。
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
When every available option carries some fault, one should choose the course that best serves śreyas—the higher, long-term good—after careful deliberation; duties around marriage arrangements are presented as especially sensitive and worthy of deep thought.
Yudhiṣṭhira raises a dilemma: if a marriage promise is reversed, it risks the fault of breaking one’s word; if a better match is rejected, it risks harming the maiden’s welfare. He asks what action makes the giver of the maiden a participant in what is truly auspicious, emphasizing that this dharma demands the most careful consideration.