Shloka 243
कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter
तव बाहुबलाद राजन् कि नु कृष्णो बलाधिक: । “राजन! आपके बाहुबलको सामने पाकर सम्पूर्ण सात्वतवंशी क्षत्रिय कभी युद्धमें टिक न सके हैं। क्या आपके बाहुबलसे श्रीकृष्णका बल अधिक है?
tava bāhubalād rājan ki nu kṛṣṇo balādhikaḥ |
সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—হে ৰাজন! আপোনাৰ বাহুবলৰ তুলনাত কৃষ্ণ কেনেকৈ অধিক বলৱান হ’ব? আপোনাৰ শক্তিৰ সন্মুখত সৰ্ব সাত্বতবংশীয় ক্ষত্ৰিয়ো যুঁজত থিয় হ’ব নোৱাৰিলে; তেন্তে কৃষ্ণৰ বল আপোনাতকৈ অধিক নেকি?
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how assessments of strength can be shaped by pride and reputation: physical prowess (bāhubala) is treated as decisive, yet the very question about Kṛṣṇa hints that power may include strategy, divine support, and moral force beyond mere bodily might.
Sañjaya addresses the king and frames a rhetorical comparison: since the king’s martial strength has overawed even the Sātvata warriors, he questions whether Kṛṣṇa could truly be stronger—setting up tension between human valor and Kṛṣṇa’s exceptional (often supra-human) capability.