Shloka 3
Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)
निदेशवाग्भिस्तत् ते ह विदितं भरतर्षभ
nideśavāgbhis tat te ha viditaṃ bharatarṣabha, pṛthvīpate! ime kṣatriyāḥ pūrvajānāṃ kathānusāreṇa sāmūhikarūpeṇa niyamaṃ kṛtvā niścayaṃ gatāḥ—asmāsu yo yaḥ sarvān kṣatriyān vijayiṣyati sa eva samrāḍ bhaviṣyati; bharataśreṣṭha, eṣā te ’pi vārtā viditāiva.
O bull among the Bharatas, O lord of the earth—this is already known to you through established proclamations. These kṣatriyas, following the precedent set by their forefathers, have collectively framed a rule: whoever among us conquers all the kṣatriyas shall alone be the emperor. O best of the Bharatas, you too are surely aware of this.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate sovereignty among kṣatriyas is presented as a matter of collectively accepted custom: the one who establishes undisputed supremacy by conquering rival rulers is recognized as samrāṭ. The emphasis is on public, precedent-backed legitimacy rather than private ambition.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses a Bharata king/prince, reminding him of a well-known political convention among the kṣatriyas: they have agreed that the conqueror of all kṣatriyas becomes emperor. Kṛṣṇa frames the point as already familiar, grounding it in ancestral precedent.