Mahabharata — Sabha Parva, Shloka 24
सभा पर्व, अध्याय ३७ — युधिष्ठिरस्य भीष्मोपदेशः
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Consultation and Bhīṣma’s Counsel in the Assembly
अद्य धर्मात्मता चैव व्यपकृष्टा युधिष्ठिरात् । दर्शितं कृपणत्वं च कृष्णे<र्घ्यस्य निवेदनात्
adya dharmātmatā caiva vyapakṛṣṭā yudhiṣṭhirāt | darśitaṁ kṛpaṇatvaṁ ca kṛṣṇe 'rghyasya nivedanāt ||
Śiśupāla erklärte: „Heute ist Yudhiṣṭhiras gerühmte Rechtschaffenheit von ihm gewichen; denn indem er Kṛṣṇa das Arghya darbrachte, hat er—nach meiner feindseligen Deutung—nicht sittlichen Mut gezeigt, sondern erbärmliche Schwäche: Er erhob öffentlich einen einzigen über alle versammelten Könige und rief damit Groll und Streit herbei.“
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how dharma and public honor can be contested in political settings: a righteous act (honoring Kṛṣṇa) is rhetorically reframed by an opponent as weakness. It shows how ethical language can be weaponized to challenge legitimacy and provoke conflict.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s grand assembly (in the Rājasūya setting), Kṛṣṇa is offered the foremost honor (arghya). Śiśupāla, hostile to Kṛṣṇa, denounces this choice and attacks Yudhiṣṭhira’s reputation for righteousness, calling the act a display of cowardly abasement.