Shloka 2
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच जरासंधश्षेदिराजो नैषादिश्व महाबल: । यदि स्युर्न हता: पूर्वमिदानीं स्युर्भयंकरा:,भगवान् श्रीकृष्णने कहा--अर्जुन! जरासंध, शिशुपाल और महाबली एकलव्य यदि ये पहले ही मारे न गये होते तो इस समय बड़े भयंकर सिद्ध होते
śrīvāyudeva uvāca | jarāsaṃdhaś ca śedirājo naiṣādiś ca mahābalaḥ | yadi syur na hatāḥ pūrvam idānīṃ syur bhayaṅkarāḥ ||
Śrī Vāyudeva said: “Jarāsandha, the king of Cedi (Śiśupāla), and the mighty Naiṣāda (Ekalavya)—had these men not been slain earlier, they would now have become truly formidable and terrifying adversaries.”
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a pragmatic ethical insight: when powerful, hostile forces are not checked at the right time, they can grow into far greater threats. In the Mahābhārata’s moral universe, timely restraint of adharma is presented as protective of social order and the broader good.
The speaker (Vāyudeva) remarks that certain renowned antagonists—Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla (king of Cedi), and the mighty Ekalavya—would have been terrifying opponents in the present conflict had they not already been killed earlier. It frames past eliminations of enemies as strategically and morally significant for the current war.