Shloka 313
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
अपराजितश्न युद्धेषु तेजश्ैवानलोपमम् । “युधिष्ठिर! तब भगवान् शिवने मुझसे प्रसन्नता-पूर्वक कहा--'श्रीकृष्ण! तुम मेरी कृपासे प्रिय पदार्थोकी अपेक्षा भी अत्यन्त प्रिय होओगे। युद्धमें तुम्हारी कभी पराजय नहीं होगी तथा तुम्हें अग्निके समान दुस्सह तेजकी प्राप्ति होगी”
aparājitaś ca yuddheṣu tejaś caivānalopamam | yudhiṣṭhira! tadā bhagavān śivo mayi prasannatā-pūrvakaṃ uvāca— ‘śrīkṛṣṇa! tvaṃ mama kṛpayā priyapadārthebhyo ’pi atyantaṃ priyo bhaviṣyasi | yuddhe tava kadācit parājayo na bhaviṣyati tathā ca te ’gnisamaṃ duḥsahaṃ tejaḥ prāpsyasi’ |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Yudhiṣṭhira, at that time the Blessed Lord Śiva, pleased with me, spoke: ‘O Śrī Kṛṣṇa, by my grace you will become dearer than all cherished possessions. In battle you will never suffer defeat, and you will attain an unbearable, fire-like splendor.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True invincibility and ‘tejas’ are presented as outcomes of divine grace aligned with dharma: moral purpose and devotion attract a higher protection and inner radiance that surpass mere physical strength.
Vaiśampāyana recounts to Yudhiṣṭhira that Śiva, pleased, grants a boon concerning Śrī Kṛṣṇa: he will be supremely beloved, never defeated in battle, and endowed with fire-like, irresistible splendor.