Shloka 2
Dambhodbhava, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and the Counsel to Abandon Hubris
Udyoga-parva 94
जीमूत इव घर्मान्ति सर्वा संश्रावयन् सभाम् | धृतराष्ट्रमभिप्रेक्ष्य समभाषत माधव:
jīmūta iva gharmānte sarvā saṁśrāvayan sabhām | dhṛtarāṣṭram abhiprekṣya samabhāṣata mādhavaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Janamejaya! Als alle Könige in der Versammlung schweigend dasaßen, blickte Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)—mit einer Stimme tief wie eine große Trommel—zu Dhṛtarāṣṭra und begann zu sprechen, sodass die ganze Halle ihn hörte, wie eine Wolke, die am Ende des Sommers donnert.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous counsel as public, accountable speech: Kṛṣṇa addresses the king directly in the full assembly, implying that moral responsibility in governance must be faced openly, especially when decisions may lead to war.
In the Kuru court, the gathered kings fall silent. Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) turns his gaze to Dhṛtarāṣṭra and begins a resonant address that the entire assembly can hear, compared to thunder at summer’s end—signaling a decisive intervention in the diplomatic crisis.