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 ||
即便只是一个小村的领主之位——若能以合乎达摩与世间正当之道而得——他也可能愿意接受。因为诸位君王都清楚：般度五子祖传之国，是如何被持国之子以不义之法夺去的。
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.