Shloka 8
कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter
अनागतमत्तिक्रान्तं वेद कृष्णोडपि तत्त्वतः
anāgatam atikrāntaṃ veda kṛṣṇo ’pi tattvataḥ | bhārata etad viṣayaṃ suṣṭhu jñātvāiva rudrasārathir brahmā iva śrīkṛṣṇaḥ pārthasya sārathir babhūva ||
Śalya said: “Kṛṣṇa, too, knows in truth what is yet to come and what has already passed. O Bhārata, it is precisely because he understands this matter thoroughly that Śrī Kṛṣṇa—like Brahmā, the charioteer of Rudra—has become the charioteer of Pārtha (Arjuna).”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights Kṛṣṇa’s comprehensive, truthful knowledge of time—past and future—and implies that his role as Arjuna’s charioteer is a deliberate, providential choice grounded in insight, not mere friendship or chance.
Śalya addresses a Bhārata prince (contextually Duryodhana) and explains why Kṛṣṇa serves as Arjuna’s charioteer: because Kṛṣṇa understands the deeper course of events, just as Brahmā is traditionally likened to Rudra’s charioteer in divine contexts.