Shloka 33
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
संजय! जिन भगवान् वासुदेवको द्विजगण सबका पिता बताते हैं, क्या वे पाण्डवोंके लिये स्वयं युद्ध करेंगे? ।। स यदा तात संनहोत् पाण्डवार्थाय संजय । न तदा प्रतिसंयोद्धा भविता तत्र कश्षन,तात! संजय! जब पाण्डवोंके लिये श्रीकृष्ण कवच बाँधकर युद्धके लिये तैयार हो जाय, उस समय वहाँ कोई भी योद्धा उनका सामना करनेको तैयार न होगा
sañjaya! ye taṁ bhagavantaṁ vāsudevaṁ dvijagaṇāḥ sarveṣāṁ pitaraṁ vadanti, kiṁ sa pāṇḍavānāṁ kṛte svayaṁ yuddhaṁ kariṣyati? sa yadā tāta sannahoṭ pāṇḍavārthāya sañjaya, na tadā pratisaṁyoddhā bhavitā tatra kaścana.
Vaiśampāyana said: “Sañjaya, the Brahmin sages proclaim that blessed Vāsudeva is the father of all. If he were to take up arms for the sake of the Pāṇḍavas, would he himself fight? For, dear Sañjaya, when Kṛṣṇa arms himself and prepares for battle on the Pāṇḍavas’ behalf, then no warrior there would be able—or willing—to stand against him.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming moral and cosmic authority attributed to Kṛṣṇa: if the universally revered Vāsudeva were to fight for the Pāṇḍavas, opposition would collapse. It frames divine support as not merely added strength but a decisive deterrent, implying that dharmic alignment with the divine makes resistance futile.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Sañjaya, reflecting on how sages regard Vāsudeva as the father of all. He poses a rhetorical question about whether Kṛṣṇa would personally fight for the Pāṇḍavas, then asserts that if Kṛṣṇa were to don armor and enter battle, no opponent would be able to stand against him.