Shloka 57
यादवक्षयः, बलराम-निर्याणम्, कृष्णस्य उपसंहारः (प्रभासे विनाशः)
गत्वा च ब्रूहि कौन्तेयम् अर्जुनं वचनान् मम पालनीयस् त्वया शक्त्या जनो ऽयं मत्परिग्रहः
gatvā ca brūhi kaunteyam arjunaṃ vacanān mama pālanīyas tvayā śaktyā jano 'yaṃ matparigrahaḥ
Geh und überbringe Arjuna, dem Sohn Kuntīs, meine Worte. So weit es in deiner Macht steht, sollst du dieses Volk, das unter meinem Schutz steht, behüten.
Sri Krishna (as conveyed within the narration of Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)
FAQs
It frames society as belonging to and protected by the Lord; the ruler’s protection becomes service to Vishnu’s own charge, not merely political duty.
Arjuna is instructed to protect the people “to the extent of his power,” defining kingship as dharmic guardianship carried out under divine mandate.
Krishna speaks as the supreme sovereign whose protection encompasses all beings; human agency (Arjuna’s strength) operates as an instrument of that higher guardianship.