Some lines on Dharma from Bhishma's address to Yudhisthir in the 94th episode of Mahabharata by B.R. Chopra.
".. Oh warrior, oh king, I am a defeated warrior and a defeated citizen. And from me, you should learn what a good warrior and citizen should not do. Vidur told me many times, that I should not honor the throne of Hastinapur. Instead, I should remain dutiful to Hastinapur. For if Hastinapur is not around, there will be no throne. Nothing is larger than the nation. No father, no son, no promise. My promises took me away from the interests of the nation. Yet, I kept them, and allowed the nation to go waste. My devotion to my promises made me a traitor. You are now seeing a traitor on this bed of arrows. I am the reason for the division of Hastinapur, the wax house accident, Draupadi's vastra haran and my beloved Arjun has thus nailed me to the ground for my sins. Every arrow is telling me, every wound is telling me, to recognize this land. You forgot it to see an image of your father?
Oh son, I am that Kshatriya who lived as a slave of my promises. With me, this chapter of disrespect for my motherland will also cease to exist. Oh son, on these white clothes of mine, there will be the blot of my pride. And this blot is so strong, that no penance from me will wash that. So son, do not ever make a promise that separates you from your nation. And if you did that, you will end up on a similar bed of arrows. Because when a Devavrata blocks the path of the nation, there will be an Arjun to slay him. This is the core essence of politics. Oh son, there is no interest of a king that is bigger than the interests of the nation. And if you think there is such an interest, then you too have trodded away from the path of Raj Dharma.
The country is not for the king, the king is for the country. And that king is never lucky for the nation, that blames his past for his nation's economic and social handicaps. If history has given you a weak socio-economic structure, then improve it! Change it! Because the past itself hasn't stood up to the challenges of the present. Because if the past were healthy, and if it had the strength to take the nation on the path of progress, then there would have been no change. And listen to this carefully oh son, the challenge of a nation's agility is that womankind is respected. The nation's borders are as respectful as a mother's clothes. Protect them with all vigor.
Vasudeva: Tell them something about Dharma and Rajdharma too Pitamah.
.. Dharma is not confined to rites and rituals. It is a balance of your duties and others' rights. Thus, you must follow Dharma. Raj Dharma (Dharma towards your nation) is the same. But a king's duties are more than that of a citizen's. If a situation calls for the partition of a nation, then call for war, but never partition the nation. Can you five brothers cut your mother into five and distribute amongst yourselves? If not, then how can you divide the motherland? I have committed this sin. Which is why I'm telling this. To delay war, I even agreed to the partition of the nation. Do not fall for this move Yudhisthir. Now I'm tired Vasudeva and won't say anything more..."
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