Shloka 1
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! जब सभामें सब राजा मौन होकर बैठ गये
vaiśampāyana uvāca—janamejaya! yadā sabhāyāṃ sarve rājānaḥ maunam āsthāya niṣaṇṇāḥ, tadā sundara-dantāvalī-śobhitah dundubhi-sama-gambhīra-svaravān yadu-kula-tilakaḥ bhagavān śrīkṛṣṇaḥ vaktum ārabdhavān. yathā grīṣma-ṛtu-ante megho garjati, tathā sa gambhīra-garjanayā sarvāṃ sabhāṃ śrāvayan dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ prati dṛṣṭvā evam uvāca.
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Janamejaya! Als in der Versammlung alle Könige verstummt waren und reglos dasaßen, begann der Herr Śrī Kṛṣṇa—Zierde des Yadu-Geschlechts, mit einer schönen Reihe glänzender Zähne und einer Stimme tief wie eine Kriegstrommel—zu reden. Wie Donnerwolken am Ende des Sommers ließ er seinen ernsten Widerhall die Halle erfüllen; dann wandte er den Blick zu Dhṛtarāṣṭra und sprach zu ihm diese Worte.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames speech as a moral instrument: when a court falls silent, the one who speaks must do so with gravity and responsibility. By directing his words to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Kṛṣṇa implicitly places ethical accountability on the ruler whose choices can avert or unleash war.
In the royal assembly, all kings become silent. Kṛṣṇa begins a solemn address, his voice compared to a drum and to thunder at summer’s end, and he turns specifically toward Dhṛtarāṣṭra to deliver counsel that will shape the political and ethical course of events.