Shloka 2
Śiśupāla-vadha in the Rājasūya-sabhā (शिशुपालवधः — राजसूयसभायाम्)
केशवेन कृतं कर्म जरासंधवधे तदा । भीमसेनार्जुनाभ्यां च कस्तत् साध्विति मन्यते,तब इस केशवने जरासंधके वधके लिये भीमसेन और अर्जुनको साथ लेकर जो नीच कर्म किया है, उसे कौन अच्छा मान सकता है?
keśavena kṛtaṃ karma jarāsandha-vadhe tadā | bhīmasenārjunābhyāṃ ca kas tat sādhv iti manyate ||
Śiśupāla sprach: „Damals, bei der Tötung Jarāsandhas, war die Tat, die Keśava vollbrachte—indem er Bhīmasena und Arjuna mit sich nahm—ein niederes Werk. Wer könnte das für gerecht halten?“
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a dharma-debate: whether an act that achieves a political or protective end (removing Jarāsandha) can be called ‘sādhu’ if its means appear deceptive or ignoble. Śiśupāla frames the issue as moral legitimacy, challenging Kṛṣṇa’s conduct and, by implication, the standards by which kings praise or condemn statecraft.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya context in the Sabha Parva, Śiśupāla publicly attacks Kṛṣṇa. Here he cites the earlier episode of Jarāsandha’s death, alleging that Kṛṣṇa, together with Bhīma and Arjuna, committed a ‘low’ deed, and he questions who could call it righteous—escalating his denunciation in the royal assembly.