Shloka 14
Uddhava Recalls Kṛṣṇa’s Mission: Earth’s Burden, Royal Dharma, and the Prelude to Dvārakā’s Withdrawal
कियान् भुवोऽयं क्षपितोरुभारो यद्द्रोणभीष्मार्जुनभीममूलै: । अष्टादशाक्षौहिणिको मदंशै- रास्ते बलं दुर्विषहं यदूनाम् ॥ १४ ॥
kiyān bhuvo ’yaṁ kṣapitoru-bhāro yad droṇa-bhīṣmārjuna-bhīma-mūlaiḥ aṣṭādaśākṣauhiṇiko mad-aṁśair āste balaṁ durviṣahaṁ yadūnām
[After the war, the Lord said:] With the aid of Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Arjuna, and Bhīma, the earth’s great burden—eighteen akṣauhiṇīs—has now been reduced. Yet what is this? The mighty strength of the Yadu dynasty, born of My own portion, still remains and may become an even more unbearable load.
It is a wrong theory that due to an increase in population the world becomes overburdened and therefore there are wars and other annihilating processes. The earth is never overburdened. The heaviest mountains and oceans on the face of the earth hold more living entities than there are human beings, and they are not overburdened. If a census were taken of all the living beings on the surface of the earth, certainly it would be found that the number of humans is not even five percent of the total number of living beings. If the birthrate of human beings is increasing, then the birthrate of other living beings is increasing proportionately. The birthrate of lower animals — beasts, aquatics, birds, etc. — is far greater than that of human beings. There is an adequate arrangement for food for all the living beings all over the earth by the order of the Supreme Lord, and He can arrange more and more if there is actually a disproportionate increase of living beings.
FAQs
This verse states that the earth’s heavy burden was reduced when the vast armies (eighteen akṣauhiṇīs), empowered by portions of the Lord’s own potency, were destroyed—fulfilling the Lord’s mission to relieve the world of oppressive forces.
They are named as principal “roots” or central pillars of the Kurukṣetra conflict—key leaders around whom the massive military strength was organized—highlighting how the decisive war dismantled the earth’s burden.
The verse reminds devotees that the Lord can dismantle overwhelming problems through His higher plan; one should do one’s duty with faith, without being crushed by the apparent magnitude of worldly conflicts.