Shloka 31
Samrāt-Lakṣaṇa and the Counsel to Check Jarāsandha (सम्राट्-लक्षणं जरासन्ध-प्रतिबाधा-परामर्शः)
अस्ति:ः प्राप्तिश्न नाम्ना ते सहदेवानुजेडबले । बलेन तेन स्वज्ञातीनभिभूय वृथामति:
astiḥ prāptiś ca nāmnā te sahadevānuje bale | balena tena svajñātīn abhibhūya vṛthāmatiḥ ||
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “You have a man named Asti and another named Prāpti—both younger brothers of Sahadeva—who are strong. Yet, relying on that strength, he overpowers his own kinsmen and becomes misguided, his judgment turning futile.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strength (bala) is not a license to oppress one’s own people; when power is used to subdue kinsmen, it leads to vṛthā-mati—vain, misguided judgment—contrary to dharma and responsible conduct.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa identifies individuals by name (Asti and Prāpti), describing them as strong and connected to Sahadeva, and then critiques the ethical failure that arises when such strength is turned against one’s own relatives.